so i just realized… in spiderverse, the whole “leap of faith” thing really takes a different meaning when you remember miles didn’t really have a problem taking a leap in the beginning of the movie. he had to psych himself up for it, but he did try. he heard mj’s speech and read some comics, and he jumped off that building to test his mettle. but he failed and crashed to the sidewalk, hard, ended up breaking the goober. that’s what causes him to lose faith in himself and makes him think he “can’t do this” without peter parker: he has tried, and he messed it up.

when you remember that, peter b telling him that being spider-man is “a leap of faith” isn’t a lesson about miles needing to find his courage in the first place, it becomes a lesson about finding the strength to try something again after you’ve failed it already. or in the movie’s words, it becomes a lesson about “getting back up.”