Few things to remember and take into consideration…
You don’t need to justify anything to your non-audiophile friends - the less they know the better it is for them and you, unless they express interest getting into this hobby. This works the same way with watches, cars, guns, etc….whatever someone is into. The non-audiophiles won’t even understand why in today’s world you would go and buy a special vinyl record or an SACD when you can this album from Apple Music thru your earbuds and be as happy as a clam.
Don’t volunteer the information to your non-audiophile friends and you will never be ridiculed - it is, from every aspect, a loosing proposition. Moot point.
Next…
Confirmation bias is a two way street - it works both for and against. However, some of us are in this hobby long enough to have an approach to auditioning components (and that includes cables) that minimize the effects of confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias, your brain playing tricks on you…all these standard lines are used by those who either 1) can’t hear; 2) never heard and have no experience, and 3) can’t afford to own
To those, once again, no one owes any explanation or justification.