How to make node editors easier to use? (animation)

It looks like this is the standard UI pattern for complex VFX compositing and 3D animations, as an example

Da Vinci Resolve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOLoVnSClSs

Blender Nodes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS2eid2hs-A

They still feel like data-flow programming for me. It looks like some people have extremely difficulty with these editors and some folks who know programming in Unity prefer using C# over these tree-based editors.