Oh, I totally get it. My respect/affection for my boss is because they were just someone who seemed to have me pegged from the get go and without my even noticing, just let me work where I was strongest. To be trusted in certain scenarios is something I value, but I guess I never realised how deeply it mattered and how much it matters to be seen without it needing to be verbalised.

Yes! Same! Even though I'm fresh out of uni, she has respect for me and my work and gives me a lot of time and space to do my thing. And she's genuinely just a very good person as well.