Helping someone who didn’t ask can feel like kindness to you and control to them.

Help has a direction, and the person receiving it feels that direction more than the intention behind it. Stepping in uninvited says, quietly, that you thought they could not manage, and it takes the problem out of their hands along with the chance to solve it. You feel generous while they feel managed. Both are honest readings of the same act.

Ask before you fix. Something as small as whether they want ideas or just company changes the whole thing, because now they chose. If they say no, let it be a real no, and stay nearby anyway.