I was thinking that maybe something spilled on the seat or it was too close to something or it was a discomfort because of the A/C or heat. Dunno.
Nope. It was someone’s makom. I don’t daven in that minyan regularly (although I will probably start to go more frequently), so I didn’t know which spots were “taken.” It’s actually a pretty nice minyan – starts at 7, finishes about 9.