My boyfriend works in truss manufacturing. It pays decently, but it's a tough job. His shifts are from 5a - 2p during the week days, the job is very physically demanding (long stretches of swinging a hammer/standing/squatting/climbing), and he's frequently dirty or dusty when he clocks out because the sawdust sticks. In the summer, the temperature of the facility he works in goes up into the 90s, so the sweat/grime/dirt is even worse. He also has to work with other guys that he does not like due to their crudeness and the way they're constantly breaking each other's balls. Despite all of this, he's determined to stick with the job for just long enough so that he has the credentials to get a better job in construction later on. And he's told me before that part of why he does the hard work is "for me."

I regularly tell my Captain how I respect him for powering through, what a tough man he is for taking on such a demanding job, etc. However, we don't live together, so I am limited to a degree in what I can do to make him feel like a king when he's around me (e.g. I can't have food and a sweet kiss waiting for him when he gets home from work). And even though he looooves the way I look, I sometimes feel like wearing a dress and looking pretty is not really what will help him rejuvenate after a hard week, like I'm sort of flaunting the privilege of looking nice every day because I'm spoiled enough to not be working my ass off and getting my hands dirty like he is.

To the ladies whose men have demanding jobs/careers, what else can I (or, rather, we) do for my (our) Captain(s) to really build him up when he's not at work and we're together?

(edit: THANK YOU FOR THE GOLD!)