Sometimes we make this issue a bit too regional: North vs. South Alabama or hill country farmers vs. plantation owners. That approach oversimplifies issues involved. In fact the same desire to remain at home affected men of similar status across the state.
For example, one of my family lines lived along the Alabama-Georgia line, having home in Randolph Co. AL and Heard-Troup Counities in Georgia. In 1851 their father died at age 48. Younger boys remained home to care for their sisters and widowed mother, the older boys leaving to marry and start their own families.
When the war came, six brothers entered Confederate service, but at widely different times. Some volunteered in 1861; other remained out of service until 1863. Those who seem to have required the attention of a conscript officer to enroll were older with families needing their attention.
Men with family responsibilities felt a strong sense of urgency to get crops planted and in cultivation. This was especially true among subsistence farmers, as opposed to those raising cotton or tobacco for market purposes. Many of the early volunteers took advantage of any opportunity to come home during planting season to attend to these requirements. In the example given by Don, sometimes they tarried too long at home and got in trouble with Confederate authorities as a result.