Dear Marxist,
Davening late wasn’t an excuse. It arose among those who were in shul a whole morning (i. e. From well before dawn until noon). The only question was what time was the better time to choose Tefillah over Torah. All the common folk davened early and went to work. These Chassidim would start davening around the same time as the workday. And they davened long and loud for hours.