Do not make someone defend the comfort they find in a harmless ritual.

People keep small rituals that make an unmanageable world slightly more manageable: an order for doing things, a lucky object, a phrase said before leaving the house. Asked to justify one, the answer sounds silly, which is mostly a feature of the demand rather than a discovery about the ritual. Nothing is gained by making someone defend it. Comfort does not have to be rational to be doing its job.

When you notice a harmless habit of someone else’s, leave it be or join in. Save your questions for the habits that are genuinely costing them something.