The bench players cheering the loudest are showing you who they’ll be when they finally start.

Cheering from the bench has nothing in it for the person doing it. They are not playing and nobody is watching them. Doing it anyway says the team matters to them independently of their own minutes, and that does not change when the minutes arrive. It is also why the sulking version is worth noticing, since it will not change either.

If you are on the bench this season, be loud, learn the plays, be first up at the timeout. It is the only part of the game you control from there. And if you are starting, look behind you at who is doing that.