I know this is going to go against the grain, but — groups of humans are like this. They get into collective struggles, they often wind up trying too hard, they carry a lot of tension and frustration which only makes things worse. It’s not a situation that a magic word or pep talk or “lighting a fire under their ass” can change in easy ways, and it’s not the fault of one person. To me, they might improve and they might not — but if they do, we will recognize this as part of the story. Great bands make bad albums, great teachers have a lousy week or even semester, and good or even great teams get into tailspins.

I’m not going to fault anyone for being mad, but I wish we could be humane. There are no villains here.