You don’t need to be captain to lead. The loudest encouragement usually comes from the bench.

Influence is not handed out with a role. It moves through whoever is paying attention to other people. From the bench you can see faces the starters cannot, and you know who just made a mistake and is spiraling about it. Saying the right thing at that moment changes the next five minutes of somebody’s game.

Pick one person this week who is having a rough stretch and tell them something specific you saw them do well. General praise slides off. A detail sticks, because it proves you were watching.