That's the intended effect -- a condescending dismissal of being condescendingly dismissed. Not much you can say to a clear sign of disengagement.
Never resign! What honourable player would deprive their foe of a well-earned mate? What of endgame practice?! Playing from a losing position is good for you.
That's why we have Mathcore. Also if this is you, please check out this programming themed prog album.
I've recently been trying to focus on this! A few years ago I looked at my collection of various things I don't really need and realized how little I know about maintaining them properly; I just bought things with no regard to how long it would be around. If I were to actually do the recommended weekly maintenance on everything including home, it'd probably be a full time job. I've since taken a step back and slowly worked one thing at a time into my weekly schedule while minimizing, and it feels pretty rewarding. It changed the way I value things, both at their peak of function and that have a small issue I wouldn't have considered fixing before.
What the actual heck, I have the exact same childhood NOPE memory of a pool with an orca mosaic. You're the first one to validate that, none of my family remembers! I think I might have almost drowned in there too.
I don't think you're entirely wrong, but I think maybe you downplay the importance of a good team dynamic when choosing people. I'd take someone less skilled over a highly skilled but unapproachable jerk for the long-term health of the crew. In that way, I don't think it's bad to favor the more likable one depending on how we're defining likable, and I don't think that makes it simply a popularity contest either.
That's so cute, I can't. Thanks for paying your taxes on time.