Yeah, empathy is hard to convey. For the friend's son, I'd say instead of tears, use the analogy of "Imagine you're waiting for your parents to come home. And you have to tell them that you crashed their cars into the lake. And burned down the house." Now imagine having to face that each and every single day...
Do I have to shed real tears? I have never shed any tears during trading, before trading or after trading. I guess I must shed "a lot of tears" before I make a lot of money, eh?