Sometimes you have to admit when you’ve been a bad friend / lover / etc and just own your shit and do better. on excuses , no self pity , etc just accountability and action that convey your sentiments of wanting to correct your actions
allow people to speak highly of themselves and admire them for it. you don’t know how long they spent questioning their worth before they finally learned to recognize it. what sounds like cockiness to you, may be the result of years spent rebuilding themselves from the inside out.