Dr. Curt Richter put rats in water and timed how long they swam. Some gave up in about fifteen minutes.
Then he changed one thing: he rescued them briefly, and put them back. Those rats swam for sixty hours.
Same water. Same rats. Same bodies. The only variable was that they now knew rescue was possible.
That is what hope does — it is not a soft feeling, it is a physical multiplier on how long you can hold on. Guard it. And when you can be the rescue for someone, understand exactly what you are handing them. You are not being nice. You are extending how long they can last.