Growing older teaches that everyone is carrying invisible timelines.

The colleague being short with you has a parent in hospital. The friend who went quiet is in the middle of something. Everyone is running on a private schedule of losses and worries that never becomes visible, and most of what looks like rudeness or coldness is somebody else’s difficult week.

When someone behaves badly toward you and it is out of character, try assuming the invisible timeline before assuming anything about you. You will be right often enough that the habit pays for itself, and you will be easier to be around either way.