A reliable friend makes difficult seasons feel less solitary.

Difficulty is heavier when it is private. The same job loss, illness, or bad year is a different experience depending on whether one person knows the details and asks about them without being prompted. Reliability is what makes that possible, because you only tell the truth to someone you expect to still be there next month. That expectation is the whole value.

If you are in a hard stretch, tell one person the actual state of things rather than the summary. And in an ordinary week, be the one who asks a second time. Reliability is built long before it is needed.