Why do you 180?

"BillC85" writes:

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What goes
through your head?

I'll answer a different question:

What preparation can I do to make the "180" decision easier?

I think it starts days or weeks ahead of a long trip (into different
weather systems than what you launched with). It starts by allowing
for extra time to get home, so you're not under time pressure to
get-back-home because otherwise I'll miss something important at work
or whatever. You allow extra money to stay at a motel and rent a car
if needed. You allow for yet more time and money to go home without
the plane and retrieve it later.

That doesn't mean that for every overnight trip you take 3 weeks
vacation. It does mean your family and boss and coworker understand
they may get a call saying you're going to be X days late getting
back.