Alabama cyclist here, though not a commuter.
A lot of roads in my city are not conducive to commuting, and the drivers are hostile to cyclists. I'd LOVE to commute to my office which is only 7 miles away, but there are no safe roads for me to do so. Not to mention my employer doesn't really have any facilities to shower (necessary because the # of significant hills I'd have to tackle)/dress/store my bike. Technically, I could do it, but I'd feel like I was risking life and limb to do it, and that's for someone with a pretty high risk tolerance.

I notice that the states listed are less likely to have bike lanes (outside of college towns). In fact, some road construction/improvement in the area is being stalled because the community comments have been that the speeds on the roads are too high for bike lanes even though the Federal Highway department wants to add bike lanes.

We need more advocacy and support from local businesses before commuting becomes viable here.