Being “the funny one” gets exhausting when nobody asks what’s behind the jokes, including you.

Having a role in a friend group is comfortable until it becomes the only thing anyone expects. If the job is being funny, every hard moment gets a joke laid over it, and eventually the joke arrives so fast that even you never find out what was underneath. People stop asking because you always seem fine. That is not their cruelty, it is what roles do once they settle.

Next time something lands badly, let three seconds pass before the bit. Tell one person the straight version. You can go back to being funny right afterward.