Try the Door

tldr; It is much easier to overcomplicate than it should be. The door may only be closed because no one checked if it was unlocked.

While in college, I would often arrive ahead of class to a crowd of classmates outside an empty classroom.

The door was closed, presumably locked. 10 to 15 people would be crowding the hall; waiting.

No one tried the door.

Perhaps each new comer assumed someone already had. Perhaps, previous experience told them the door was locked.

Organizations come with momentum.

If you arrive to an existing group, it's easy, and perhaps, feels, safest to assume that someone has already tried the door.

Trying the door, means asking uncomfortable questions about what has already been tried or considered. But, if people don't continue to ask when they arrive, no one can know for certain.

There are a million lessons in group dynamics to be considered and weighed but in this one case. Wherever you arrive, whenever you can Try the door.