Years ago when was in middle school I checked out a black & white Claremont era X-Men annual from my school's library. A scene I swear I remember reading is after the team rescue Kitty Pryde from Caliban and they leave on good terms, there's this little aside at the end where she thinks about how easily Nightcrawler could've ended up like him, hiding in the sewers and starved for affection. Then she vows to herself to try and be nicer to him. At the time that struck me as a real turning point in their relationship, but for the life of me I can't find which issue it happened in.
It’s from issue 148 of Uncanny X-Men. Ororo, Kitty, Stevie Hunter, and Jessica Drew go to a club to watch a Dazzler show, and meet Caliban.