Yondu's generally shit at explaining things. If he were a carpenter, every nail in the conversation would be crooked and maybe even bent to the side. Hearing her say that feels a little better, at least, in that she seems to at least realize, for a glimmer of an instant, how important she might be to people just as she is.

"Well, I figure givin' hope to hopeless people is more heavy liftin' than people let on."

Which is the long and short of what she does. Every society in the cosmos with any concept of hope or the lack of it doesn't give enough credit to a being that can manifest it in others. Especially a tiny pink one still made of flesh and blood and not forgotten wishes.