You learn a friendship’s depth when one person has nothing interesting to offer for a while.

It is easy to be close to someone who is interesting, successful, or good company. The real reading comes during the dull stretch, the illness, the unemployment, the year when someone has nothing to bring. Who stays present through that tells you what the friendship was actually about. Being uninteresting is a more revealing test than being in crisis.

Think of a friend whose life has gone quiet or hard and get in touch without needing them to be entertaining. Ask about the boring parts. That is the contact that gets remembered.