Sometimes leading a teammate through a rough season is fewer questions and more rides home.

When somebody is having a hard stretch, questions can land as one more thing to perform. Being asked how you are doing, repeatedly, by well-meaning people, becomes its own small job. Presence without interrogation says the same thing more softly, which is that you are still here, nothing is required, the seat is theirs.

If somebody near you is struggling, offer the ordinary thing instead of the deep conversation. A ride, a seat saved, a message about something unrelated. Leave the door open for them to say more, and do not need them to.