Sometimes loyalty just looks like sitting there. No advice, no fixing, just not leaving.

When somebody is in the middle of something bad, the urge is to fix it, because sitting in it alongside them feels useless. Usually it is the reverse. Advice can land as a hint that they should be handling this better, while somebody simply staying puts a floor under the day. Presence says the thing that is hard to say out loud, which is that they are not going through it on their own.

If a friend is having an awful week, go over without a plan. Say you are around, then talk about nothing much. Staying longer than is comfortable is often the whole contribution.