Do you have any indication of why this person was the target of abuse?
Some people just cannot stand being a “lesser-than” in their own minds, and will rip apart others. It’s always been there, but the social media and data harvesting era of today has made it easier than ever to terrorize someone you just plain dislike.
I hate that they’ve been pushed to ending the project so abruptly, but I hope they find joy again soon.
There is also I think a distinction between people whose toxic behavior comes from their miscalibrates sense of entitlement and people whose toxicity comes from their desire to bully someone.
Having done a lot of volunteer work, I know firsthand that many people simply don't realize how much effort goes into something that seems simple. They will make suggestions and sometimes demands, pressing the value and importance of what they're asking. But they don't step up to help. This doesn't rise to the level of bullying and harassment, but it can be extremely frustrating, draining, and discouraging.
”Aggression, Social Stress, and the Immune System in Humans and Animal Models” (2018)
It’s a review article on the research topic Anger and Interpersonal Aggression.
It reviews a lot of interesting knowledge from neuroimmunobiology to the sociobehavioral implications.