I don’t see ‘quiet’ used enough, because, unlike signals, noise is pushy. Yet it’s the silent structures beneath us that keep everything steady — the small loyalties, the unspoken reassurances, the steadying routines. They never ask for applause, but they are what keep a life from coming undone. For every boisterous outburst, there is a quieter confidence — the kind that doesn’t need to insist on itself to be felt.