Some of the strongest people you know are just people who didn’t have a choice. Respect that.

Strength is often read as a personality trait when it is really a history. People who carried a great deal usually did it because there was nobody else, and most would have preferred an easier run. Admiring that without noticing the cost turns a hard life into a compliment. The respect is owed, and so is the understanding that it was not chosen.

If you know somebody like that, offer something practical rather than praise: a lift, a share of the job, an hour of company. And if it is you, you are allowed to say it was heavy, and to ask for help now.