One morning in early March 2020, I was in the Charlotte, N.C. airport, rushing to make my flight to New York, where the boutique marketing agency I worked for was based. I was head of strategy and we were kicking off a big project with a new client, a somewhat secretive law firm. Then I got a call that the meeting was off, postponed indefinitely. The law firm had decided to shelve the project because of what the gate agent in Charlotte called “this virus thing.”

“Everybody is turning around and flying home, hon,” she said. I was still waiting for my flight home to Virginia when the call from my boss came. “Steve,” he said, “we’re both adults, so I don’t need to belabor this.” He was a gentleman and a pro about it, like he always was. I’d had the pleasure of working with him for years, and now that was over. I was being laid off.