The fact that there is effectively zero "hope for the best" in commercial aviation and that literally every possible variable has been accounted for and has a defined procedure to follow to effectively guarantee safety (and that pilots are extensively trained for all of those procedures so they're muscle-memory) should instill confidence in even the most nervous flyers.

Like most FTers, I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles (maybe even north of a million at this point). Even so, when the clouds get thick and the ride gets bumpy, I still get a little anxious. It is the responses of the generous pilots in this thread (supplemented by the small amount of flight training I engaged in in a previous life) that I go back to every time that happens to calm myself and know that everything is going to be fine--knowing that there's on-board weather radar and teams of dispatchers and meteorologists ensuring we'll avoid dangerous weather and that there's a calculated maneuvering speed that ensures that even if we did hit a pocket of tremendous turbulence, the forces would not be enough to cause excessive wing loading or damage to the airframe, etc. It is this thread that has reassured me that regardless of changes in management, the safety culture of at least the US-based majors and especially United is strong and my life is completely safe in the hands of these pilots.

This thread really has been one of the very best threads on FlyerTalk. My hat's off to all the United (and other) pilots that work day in and day out to get us where we need and want to go with effectively zero risk.