A lot has to do with how people see themselves. In part along a generalist-specialist scalar and also on a scalar of everyday life-emergency.

I have relatives who are so tied up with specialization I really think the guys would starve to death surrounded by food. They don't know how to make a sandwich or heat soup. They couldn't sew on a button if their life depended on it. These are 'woman's work' and they have no desire to learn.

Generalists usually have a leg up in an emergency.

Related but different is the idea that there is some great qualitative difference between everyday life and some hypothetical emergency. Many people who are otherwise unprepared can handle an emergency if someone simple states in plain, unvarnished language that 'this is an emergency', 'the normal rules to not apply'.

It is interesting to see people go from being disoriented to having some traction very quickly as soon as this clue makes things clearer. This is one of the core acts of effective leadership. To sum up a disjointed situation and make it clearer.

Of course the cause of this disorientation is that most people don't contemplate emergencies. They don't understand that disasters and emergencies and tragedies are all part of life. That they are not actually unusual. That preparedness as a concept is not an unusual activity. We buy insurance, we carry raincoats, the car has a spare tire. Having a three-day emergency supply, an effective first-aid kit, an evacuation plan, an emergency meeting location is just a natural continuation of these common sense precautions.

With this mindset there is no need for any great transition between everyday life and a disaster. The emergency is seen as just a natural and expected part of life. an opportunity to bring a different skill set to bear. A shifting of gears. Not a tragically shocking and numbing 'through the looking glass' experience.