The conversation is easier when nobody has to turn their life into a performance of progress.

Catching up often turns into a mutual presentation. Each person offers a version of the year with the wins in front and the flat stretches trimmed out, and both leave having learned nothing true and feeling faintly behind. The performance is rarely dishonest on purpose. It is what people do when they suspect they are being assessed.

Go first with something ordinary or unresolved. Say that the year has been mixed, or that you still have not sorted the thing you mentioned last time. Watch how quickly the other person puts down their own summary once they can see it is not required.