The hot nucleus 171 Yb is investigated by the covariant density functional theory with the PC-PK1 effective interaction. The thermodynamic quantities are evaluated with the canonical ensemble theory. The pairing correlations is treated by the shell-model-like approach, in which the particle numbers are conserved strictly and in which the blocking effect is handled exactly. An S-shaped heat capacity versus temperature of 171 Yb appears. It has been studied in terms of the blocking effect, the single-particle levels, the pairing gap, and defined seniority components, and compared to the heat capacity of 172 Yb. The pairing transition from the superfluid state to the normal state can result in the S-shaped heat capacity of 172 Yb where the one-pair-broken and two-pair-broken states dominate, while the single-particle level structure near the Fermi surface is associated with the S-shaped heat capacity of 171 Yb. For odd-A nuclei, although the one-pair-broken and two-pairbroken states still contribute, the pairing gap and the pairing transition is relatively weak. The S-shaped heat capacity could be affected due to the blocking of the single-particle level near the Fermi surface.