Why? Because they're desperate, need help and hope for someone, anyone to give them some guidance they don't have locally. Academia can be a horrible environmen

Why? Because they're desperate, need help and hope for someone, anyone to give them some guidance they don't have locally. Academia can be a horrible environment where whole faculties can be incredibly abusive and strange - outside look is pretty much critical to know whether it's you who's losing their mind or if you're trapped in an asylum. This isn't hard to understand.