Getting good at something is the moment to get more careful about how you talk to beginners.

Skill makes you forget what hard felt like. Once something is easy, a beginner’s question starts sounding stupid rather than ordinary, and a small amount of impatience from someone good is enough to make a person quit altogether. The better you get, the more weight your tone carries whether or not you chose to put it there.

If someone newer asks you something obvious, answer the question they actually asked and leave out the part about how simple it is. Mention one thing you got badly wrong at their stage. That admission will do more for them than the correct technique.