How sound is the statement that "awaiting ease in this life commensurate with your worship is a type of hidden shirk"? And how can this statement be reconciled with the verses that call for worshipping Allah out of fear and hope?

The statement needs clarification, as there is a difference between shirk (associating partners with God) in worship and tashreek (sharing) in intention. Whoever intends by his deed only the worldly life commits a type of shirk, and Allah has warned the one who does so in Surat Hud. As for tashreek in intention, meaning performing a deed for the reward of the afterlife and benefit in this world, there is no harm in it, as long as the primary intention is to draw closer to Allah Almighty, and the worldly benefit intended is permissible in Islamic law.