The helper’s patience needs ordinary support rather than endless admiration from a distance.

Admiration is easy to give and light to carry. Telling someone they are wonderful for looking after a parent or a partner costs nothing and changes nothing about the afternoon ahead of them. Patience does not refill itself on compliments; it runs on sleep, meals, an hour off, somebody else making the phone call. The distance in the praise is usually the problem rather than the feeling inside it.

If you know somebody carrying that kind of work, offer one specific ordinary thing this week and name a time. Groceries on Thursday, or two hours on Sunday. Let them decline without explaining.