How to connect a Dell external CD/DVD player to a MacBook Air M4 using an external USB power hub?

When i tried to connect the cd player to the thunderport on the macbook air M4 (using a USB-A to USB-C converter plug), the macbook would not recognize the cd player. I read the possible cause could be that the cd player was not receiving enough power from the port. Therefore, I purchased an external USB power hub (made by Atolla) which can connect to the macbook's thunderport (using the aforementioned USB-A to USB-C converter plug). The power hub has 4 USB-A female ports, allowing me to connect the cd player to one of its ports. The macbook readily recognized this configuration and the cd player works fine.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]