Alongside my own research, I contributed to a larger collaborative study led by Alexandrea Ravenelle (UNC Sociology) on precarious work in uncertain times. I interviewed 60 un- and under-employed New York City creative workers at the height of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. I also conducted follow-up interviews with 30 of them a year later. We co-authored two peer-reviewed papers in New Media & Society and Sociological Perspectives. Both articles show ways these workers responded to a lack of government support and protection for precarious workers. During this time of heightened physical and financial risk, instead of turning to the government for help, precarious workers internalized their problems to create individual solutions that left broader structural issues intact. In other words, they took care of themselves. For example, many precarious workers found additional gig work rather than seeking available unemployment support. Similarly, most workers did not report online job advertisement scams to relevant authorities but instead developed methods for avoiding these scams. Accustomed to working without a public safety net, many precarious workers continued to do so even after the federal government responded to this crisis with more robust forms of public support. These findings suggest an historic absence of public support may act as a barrier for certain groups when accessing newly available forms of support.