The best time to fix a problem with a friend is before it’s a group problem. Small and early beats big and late.

Problems between two people stay solvable while they are still between two people. Once other friends have opinions there are sides, and fixing it means managing everybody’s version of what happened rather than the original thing. Delay does not keep it the same size. It recruits.

If something has been sitting wrong with a friend for more than a week, say it to them directly and only to them. One sentence about what bothered you, no audience, in person or on a call if you can. It will be an awkward ten minutes, which is a much better price than the version where six people are involved.