I often used to assign malice to folks in leadership positions I strongly disagreed with. I then slowly moved to assigning ignorance. It made being compassionate to these folks much easier. Now, I often assign fear.

Fear of being found out a fraud, fear of being in over your head, fear of failure. – Elizabeth Shassere

I recommend reading the whole article here. Not everyone will tick off all the checkboxes but perhaps being aware of them can help you build compassion for others and maybe even become aware of some things you are afraid of.