You don’t have to have been near death to know . . . what living is all about–but maybe it helps.

The remark contrasts ordinary, reflective self-knowledge with the sharpened clarity that can come from crisis. It suggests that one need not endure extreme suffering to grasp what matters—purpose, relationships, gratitude, and the urgency of time—yet acknowledges that a brush with death can strip away distractions and force a reordering of priorities. The ellipsis and qualifying “maybe” keep the statement from becoming a moral prescription; instead, it reads as a modest, experiential observation about perspective. In the context of a public figure associated with illness and comeback narratives, it also gestures toward the cultural tendency to treat survival as a catalyst for authenticity and renewed meaning.