Substance Use and The Myth of Hitting Bottom

It has been said time and time again by people in the media, the entertainment world that a person who abuses substances "must hit bottom in order to get better". While this could be true for some, I don't believe it is the rule.
I believe that an all or nothing statement like that is dangerous and harmful. First of all, if you wait for this to happen, the person may end up in a body bag. This person, which had potential, now has lost their life just because the people around him waited for them to hit the rick bottom. I remind friends and family members that if this happened because they waited for the "rock bottom" how would they actually feel.
Secondly, I have yet to hear a good definition of what is the rock bottom. Is it listing their family, friends, houses, jobs, freedom, all of this (another all or nothing statement) some of it, or something else. In my experience, I have seen most of these in some way, shape, or form. I have seen people change their use after losing one of these or many of these even all of these. Yet, others have lost all these things and continued their use. Saying something like "hitting rock bottom" is not only dangerous, its a fallacy.
So the obvious question is: how do you treat substance use? Well, just like any medical and mental health,  there are several solutions. Always engaging the individual is probably the only universal answer. Talk to the person each day. If they are annoyed, walk away. Lecturing is useless. I think you just ask how they are. When you speak to them, they feel like you care enough. Not caring is exactly what they think you feel so avoid not caring, it feeds into their thought process. 
And a point on engagement: don't yes them, don't over engage and certainly do not offer money. If they get mad, walk away. You are not there to rescue, just to be there. Reflect what they say, summarize what they said, ask open ended questions, and show empathy. These are all motivational interviewing techniques that family, friends, neighbors can use. It avoids many of the pitfalls described above and makes the person feel engaged by people around them.
Using these techniques avoids the "hitting bottom" paradigm and leaves hope both for the individual and the people around him.