Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.

Hope makes something out of nothing, which is exactly why people distrust it. There is no visible supply and no evidence in hand, and yet it produces the energy that gets someone through a week with no encouragement in it. That is either a trick you play on yourself or the most practical resource available, and in bad conditions the distinction hardly matters.

When there is nothing to point at, look for the smallest honest reason to keep going rather than the strongest one. It does not have to convince anybody else. Hope kept small and specific lasts better than hope that requires everything to work out.