Strong teams have a way to say “I’m overwhelmed” without it sounding like quitting. Build that.

Most people would rather quietly drown than say they are struggling, because in a lot of groups admitting it gets treated as the first step toward quitting. With no safe way to say you are at capacity, people say nothing and then disappear instead. That language has to be built deliberately, and usually somebody has to use it first.

Say your own version out loud, something like being at your limit this week, and let the team see that it ended nothing. Ask one person directly how their load is. Then take something off it.