Robust implies a positive connotation, I always saw it as desperation. It's one thing to see someone begging on the street-corner. It's a whole other thing to

Robust implies a positive connotation, I always saw it as desperation. It's one thing to see someone begging on the street-corner. It's a whole other thing to see them out there wrapped in an old wool blanket when it's below zero. One is fairly innocuous for anyone acclimated to big cities, the other one gets you thinking "holy shit, that person is in mortal danger".