bpt — Did you read the original article? This guy IS working half a day — very productively according to the question. He is not on the typical “kollel path”.
It did not say he gets upset when she wakes him up. It says he takes a while to get up and out of bed. He gets upset when she tries “discussing” the situation with him. I understood that to mean when she nags him about the fact that he doesn’t get up for davening! Most men would respond defensively when his wife complains about something like this. The responders seemed to understand it in a similar way, with many of them warning against being confrontational and nagging, and to try to get to the bottom of the issue by having a positive discussion with him.
The advice included
“discuss with him why he is disenchanted with the learning part of his day. . .”
“you need to get as much understanding as possible of the crucial question: why is this terrific guy having such a hard time? Why is it so difficult for him to get up?”
“you want to create a sense of caring, sharing , being a team.”
“reprove the wise part of the person, highlighting his many positive attributes”
There are numerous lines about being nonjudgmental and accepting, suggestions that there may be a deeper issue that can only be discussed if the wife is supportive and encouraging. There are also recommendations for him to consider changing his schedule, perhaps doing his learning at night with a chavrusah if this morning kollel doesn’t work for him.
It seems like none of the posters read the question or answers!
truth be told — You raise some interesting questions. With regard to your “social life” question, however, I think you may have misunderstood the article. It said he was self-employed — that is not the same as saying he worked from home.