Being a good friend sometimes means staying in the awkward conversation instead of leaving it.

Leaving is always available, which is exactly what makes staying worth something. The friend who sits through the uncomfortable part, the silence, the thing nobody wants to name, is doing the one piece of friendship that cannot be done from a distance. It is uncomfortable for both of you. Only one of you is carrying something heavier than discomfort.

Stay about five minutes past the point where you want to go, and resist filling the gap with advice. Asking what they need usually beats guessing at it. If it is beyond you, say so honestly and help them find somebody it is not beyond.