I think you're interpreting "doing poorly" wrong.

I read GP as saying that people who are laid off are currently going through a stressful time in their life: "doing poorly".

If your buddies are going through a stressful time in their life then you should be spending even more time with them if possible.

I completely agree... My comment was based on the assumption this conversation isn't about helping your buddies through a tough time, it's about who to network with when you've been laid off.

Support groups are common for all kinds of things, so there seems to be some kind of value in it.

Or maybe too many people got hired by some guy in a hoodie because they were afraid any talented people they didn’t hire would work for a startup that puts them out of business or that they feel they need to spend $15 billion to buy so they don’t face competition.

Said “guy in hoodie” and his close buddies “guy in khakis” and “athleisure gal” have just materially increased the likelihood that they’ll be spending $15B (or whatever the going rate is in 5 years).