Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 5 - "Truth".
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 5 drew upon Sam Wilson's (Anthony Mackie) past as a counselor of veterans with PTSD to help Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) heal from his trauma as the Winter Soldier. After everything Sam and Bucky had been through in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, it was time for them to connect as actual friends (or "co-workers" as Sam jokingly insisted) and for Wilson to use his experience to tell Barnes what he needed to hear.
Sam met Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in the hilarious opening moments of Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the super soldier easily ran laps around Wilson. But they struck up a friendship based upon their both being veterans and later, Steve dropped by a counseling session Sam ran for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Sam recognized that Captain America was also feeling out of sorts and questioning his place in the world. Wilson told Rogers why he left the Air Force and the guilt he feels over the death of his paratrooper wingman, Riley. This was a regret Steve understood all too well since he lost his best friend, Bucky, back in 1945, and Rogers was outliving the only other person he knew back then, his love, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). But it was the trust Sam and Steve formed that led Rogers to later seek out Wilson's help to fight Hydra and stop the Winter Soldier and Project Insight. After that, Sam literally stuck by Steve until the end of the line.
Sam's skills as a counselor came back into play for Bucky, another emotionally wounded veteran, in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 5. Bucky came to Louisiana to deliver a special package to Sam from Wakanda, but he was also looking for some guidance. For his part, Bucky apologized to Sam for what he said during their forced 'couples counseling' session in episode 2 and he admitted neither he nor Steve could understand what it means for a Black man to be given Captain America's shield. Once Sam accepted Bucky's apology, it was his turn to give advice since he recognized Bucky is still coping with his trauma as the Winter Soldier. Wilson's bottom line to Barnes: "Do the work".
Sam was right that what Bucky was doing wasn't "atoning" it was "avenging". Barnes was bringing Hydra agents he enabled as the Winter Soldier to justice, but it wasn't bringing him the closure he needs because he wasn't actually facing the families of the Winter Soldier's victims. Case in point is Yori Nakajima (Ken Takemoto), who Bucky befriended because the Winter Soldier murdered his son, RJ (Akie Kotabe), an innocent bystander to an assassination. Yet Bucky hasn't told Yori how his son truly died, nor has he apologized. Sam's advice isn't merely to say "sorry" but to be of service to the people on Bucky's list. Bucky understood and took their "good talk" to heart.
Sam Wilson's introspection and ability to help others who are emotionally suffering is one of his finest qualities, and it may be the Falcon's true 'superpower'. It's notable that after Sam died in Avengers: Infinity War, Steve Rogers did what Sam would have done and ran his own group counseling sessions for the survivors of Thanos (Josh Brolin) during the five years before the Avengers resurrected everyone the Mad Titan killed.
Had Sam not died, it's likely he would have counseled the Avengers who were also struggling with their failure against Thanos and the deaths of billions of people, like Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) or he could have helped Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), who went on a murderous rampage in his grief over the loss of his family. But Sam did help Bucky to heal in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and somewhere, Steve Rogers is proud of his two best friends.
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