It would seem that your riding buddies have bought their way into aero & rely on eachother to go 20-22mph for 14mph worth of effort.

You, OTOH, seem to have put in at least some amount of "dues." Enough so to at least strengthen your core for proper hill climbing technique & have some cardiovascular capacity to feed your muscles longer. Longer than your buddies, at least.

Hills are what seperates the strong from the weak.

Take the praise. Ride near the front where the slingshot/slinky effect of group dynamics doesn't eject you off the back.