I held the elevator for someone who was still in another time zone

The elevator doors were closing when I saw a man enter the lobby carrying a coffee and a laptop bag.

He was far away. Not impossibly far, but far enough that a reasonable person would have let the doors close and trusted the building to send another elevator. I chose generosity without consulting distance.

I pressed Door Open.

The man noticed and changed from walking to the awkward half-jog people use when they did not ask to become part of a public favor. His coffee began moving independently of the cup. I smiled to communicate that there was no hurry, while continuing to hold a button that clearly created hurry.

The doors tried to close. I pressed again.

He was now crossing the security desk area. We made eye contact. At that point neither of us could cancel. If I released the button, I would become the person who made him run and then left. If he slowed down, he would reject a favor already consuming everyone’s morning.

There were four other people inside the elevator. Nobody complained. They did something worse: they watched the lobby through the narrowing doors as if we were tracking the final yards of a marathon.

The man reached us, stepped inside breathing harder than the trip justified, and said, “Thanks.”

I said, “No problem,” despite having created the entire problem.

Then the doors closed and he pressed the button for the second floor. We were on the first floor. The stairs were ten feet from where his sprint began.

The ride lasted perhaps six seconds. It felt long enough for each passenger to review the choices that had brought us together.

I still believe in holding elevators. The issue is range. There must be a social distance beyond which pressing Door Open stops being courteous and becomes an involuntary fitness challenge. The person outside cannot honestly wave you on because you are visibly fighting the machinery on their behalf.

What is the correct cutoff: already at the elevator bank, halfway across the lobby, or close enough to reach the doors without changing pace? And if someone holds it from too far away, are you allowed to keep walking normally, or has the button created a binding sprint agreement?