“Is there anything I can do to make your life better?”
I don’t know a more potent question to ask, of anyone, at any time. Ask out loud, ask silently with your attention. Ask it, and do what you can.
It is, of course, the question medical professionals are always asking, underneath the questions they actually ask. It’s the question teachers are asking of their students, and it’s the question we should be asking of the people we love.