One day, I asked a captain I really respected for his advice, as I was due to fly the next day with a misery. His reply?
'Everyone has a button you can push - unless of course, the wiring is disconnected'.
I put the question of the right button to the ether and next day, found a flash of inspiration as to which one to push. It wasn't easy or comfortable at the time, being what might have been considered aggressive, but the outcome??? I was ol' misery's best friend after that. So, I learnt that pushing the correct button can come in any form. Trust your gut feel at the time.
Or, here's something that worked for a creative, but paranoid colleague. About 99% of F/Os, including myself, were united in their hatred of the classic bully on our fleet - who picked fights on the flight deck for his own entertainment. Said paranoid colleague always carried his pocket-size tape recorder with him. When the inevitable picking started, the record button was surreptitiously pushed. After landing it was played back to him. The bully put in for early retirement the next week. I would never have tried it myself - but my colleague had the guts and personality to get away with it.
There are many ways to skin a cat and a creative solution is always better than the official route. Good luck.