I’ve had many very kind people help me throughout my life. In most cases there was no clear immediate reward for them. Maybe there was immediate return - joy in sharing one’s craft or the satisfaction of passing on good will they received sometime long ago.

Every meaningful project I’ve worked on has benefited more from inclusion than exclusion. The person I help may or may not become a significant contributor to my project, but many times they become the person that can help me with something I’m learning. And so what if I never run across that person again? Maybe they will remember the kindness they received and pass it along.