When a teammate is struggling, a quiet “you good?” can matter more than a whole pep talk.

Someone struggling usually does not need a speech. They need to know they were noticed. A short question leaves room for an honest answer, while a long encouraging talk mostly asks them to perform being fine. The small version also costs almost nothing to answer, which is exactly why it works.

Pick the teammate who has gone quiet lately, ask them one short question, then stop talking. If the answer is nothing, let it be nothing and ask again in a few days. Turning up twice says more than anything you could have said once.