There is a particular kind of grief that arrives when someone brilliant dies young. A collective gasp that then quietly reshapes itself into awe and reverence. We speak of them differently afterwards. We say things like “at the height of their powers” and “a light extinguished too soon” and the eulogies are always, somehow, luminous.

We do not do this for people who die at 84 after a good dinner with people that love them.

Burnout gets talked about a lot these days. It shows up in workplace policies, LinkedIn posts, wellness checklists, and those well meaning reminders to take a break and go outside.

But for creative people, burnout often feels a little different. Something beyond just exhaustion. Something more nebulous and disorienting than that.