Friends aren’t trading cards. Stop collecting the rare ones and ignoring the ones who show up.

Attention drifts towards the people who are hard to get and away from the ones who answer. Scarcity feels like value, so the friend who is always available starts to seem like less of a prize, even though availability is the actual substance of friendship. The ones who turn up when you need them are not a lower tier. They are the thing itself.

Think about who appeared last time something went wrong, then give that person a real hour this week. Ask about their situation rather than reporting yours. Attention pointed at the people already there tends to come back.