An election night ends at different emotional hours in neighboring houses.

The same night ends at different hours emotionally in houses a few metres apart. One household is celebrating a future it wanted; the next is absorbing one it feared, and the clock says the same thing to both. Public events land privately and unevenly.

Which is worth carrying into the days afterwards. The colleague, neighbour, or relative who seems off may be somewhere entirely different from you about the same news. You do not have to agree with them to notice it. Asking how someone is, rather than assuming they share your reaction, is usually more useful than restating your own.