Well said spannerless:
I remember one such afternoon between myself and a passing aircraft communications were passed to the relevent agencies a lost aviator was able to return safely with no loss of aircraft or life (Note a commercial aircraft helping a training GA aircraft!).
Isn't that how aviation is supposed to be?
It should be a two way thing. As a PPL I have, on a number of occasions (mostly overseas) acted as a conduit to pass airways clearances etc between ATC and CAT who, for one reason or another, were unable to hear each other.
The first time it happened was on a flight from Larnaca to Beirut in a PA28. listened as Beirut tried to pass a clearance to a Middle East Airlines Airbus. Several attempts were made before I offered to act as a conduit. ATC accepeted my offer and I passed on the details to the ME jet. The Beirut controller made a point of coming to thank me on landing (which was nice
!)
One of the main reasons for feeling able to offer help was having learnt to fly in busy SE England airspace and having 121.5 disciplines driven into me from day one of training. Oh, that and being able to practice calls once in a blue moon with those always helpful D&D people.
My point is that we can be there for each other, that we are not in competition for resources and that most (if not all) PPL's strive to be good airmen/women in the same way that our professional counterparts do.
It really is 2-way-traffic!