Vegetarians who say this shit say they enjoy getting encouragement from vegans, but they actually just want a pat on the back and brownie points from susceptible vegans, not actual encouragement.
This is the greatest encouragement I can give them, but because it's in an "aggressive" tone, they love to say "You're the reason why people shy away from going vegan!"
Sorry to tell ya, but if some harsh words promoting the very ideological foundation of veganism are enough to discourage you, then you clearly don't have a plan to "transition" to veganism to begin with.
Imagine telling someone "You really need to stop being fucking racist." and then they say "Ugh! I'm working on it! You being so pushy makes me want to be more racist actually!"
The cheese rots into their brains apparently.
On some level, it is "legitimate," but the optics that many baby-steps vegetarians have around it are insane. They express animosity towards convicted vegans encouraging them to examine their animal product consumption more seriously, and they also seem hypocritical because they claim to espouse awareness that consuming animal products is wrong, but make lousy excuses like "Cheese is just so damn good!" in the process of justifying it.
I've literally had a vegetarian telling me they're taking a gradual approach to veganism because they believe their life would be "miserable" without ice cream and shredded cheese on their tacos. Ultimately, I've learned that giving too much good faith to the baby steppers is usually a bad move.
I try to research destinations and understand what my grocery and restaurant options will be, and idk what part of phoenix you travel to, but my vegan former roommate moved there after college and when I visited there was no shortage of vegan restaurants, an incredible number of restaurants that had multiple vegan options on the menu and the grocery stores seemed more than adequate. Bulk prices at Sprouts (I think?) for lentils were on par with if not slightly cheaper than where I shop in REDACTED. I'm almost entirely unable to imagine having to consume dairy on a trip there without some truly insane contrivances that involve dairy industry goons threatening my or my partner's life if I resist.