Unable to get into a Zoom meeting on my HP laptop

I am a part of a Playwright lab that meets every Saturday.  For some reason this past Saturday i couldn't get into the zoom room to join the group.  I tried several times and I would get to the screen that shows my face and when I clicked the JOIN button, it kept saying waiting for the host to let me in. Eventually the instructor sent me an email saying that he was waiting for ME to let him into Zoom.  What's up? Did I block him  out some way? Yesterday he sent me a recording of the class I missed and I couldn't open that link either. Instead of seeing the arrow or the small hand with the pointing finger, I saw that small vertical line and no action.  What's going on here.