How do I keep going when the public resents essential work I do?

You run something the public needs and rarely thanks you for. Doing essential work while feeling resented is a particular kind of tired, because the effort is real and the appreciation is not. It wears on anyone, and you are right to feel it rather than pretend you do not. But the worth of your work does not depend on being seen or thanked. The road still gets cleared, the service still runs, the thing people quietly rely on still works because you keep it working. Resentment often lands on the visible face of a system people are frustrated with, not on the person doing the honest job. Their frustration is not the true measure of your value. The functioning of the thing you tend is. When the resentment stings, remind yourself of the concrete good you keep in place, and find your steadiness there rather than in applause. Name one thing that works because of you. You do this because it matters, not because it is cheered, and that is a sturdier reason than praise ever was.