Buckling the helmet when your friends skip theirs is bravery of the uncool variety. It’s still bravery.

The pressure in that moment is not really about safety; it is about not looking like somebody who worries. Going along means taking an actual risk to avoid a small social cost, which is a poor trade dressed up as confidence. Doing the sensible thing while people watch is its own kind of nerve, and it earns no credit, which is why so few people manage it. The risk does not care how it looked.

Settle the rule before you are standing with your friends, because the moment itself is too fast. Put it on, say nothing about it, and watch how often somebody copies you.