What does your audience represent to you?

When clients share their apprehension about presenting their creative work, I often urge them to contemplate the following question: what does your audience represent to you? At first, this may seem like an unusual way to think about an audience. The idea that an audience represents something--and is not just the group of people watching or listening to your work, can be a little foreign. However, upon further exploration, I find that clients start to get it: throughout the years, they have turned audiences into some kind of projection; imagined and self-imposed pressure, that draws from past experiences, inner criticism or unrealistic expectations. 
Audiences may represent:

1. the affirmation of proving to yourself and to others that you've made it
2. the comforting "embrace" of validation and acceptance
3. a bully taunting you early in life
4. a harsh critic who told you you're not worth it
5. an extended member of your family who cares about the effort you've put into your work
6. the challenge of figuring out (from a marketing perspective) how to capture people's attention

There are likely many other ideas to add to this list. As soon as clients figure out what their audience represents to them, they can work through complicated feelings about presenting their work to others. Having an understanding of what's at stake, on a deeper emotional level, can make it easier to challenge what's holding them back. 
What does your audience represent to you? Please share your thoughts below!