Some apologies are just requests for access without evidence of change.

An apology can be an acknowledgement of harm or a request to return to normal without doing anything differently. The two sound similar in the moment, especially when you want to believe it. What separates them is what happens over the following weeks, when nobody is watching and the incentive to perform has passed. Words are a beginning at best.

Rather than evaluating the apology, watch what follows it. Look for changed behaviour in the specific area, not general kindness elsewhere. Accepting an apology and restoring full access can be two separate decisions made at different times.