Awaiting Moshiach isn’t extra credit. It’s part of the 12th of Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith, and the Gemara says one of the questions asked after 120 is: _Tzipisa liyeshua_ — “Did you await Moshiach?”

Waiting proves belief. If Moshiach brings ultimate good to the Jewish people, to all humanity, and to the Shechinah, you can’t help but ache for it.

And because we ache for it, in every mitzvah we do, and every word of Torah we learn, it’s expressed.

Yearning means believing it can happen today, literally. Otherwise it’s not belief. It’s theory.

(See Shabbos 31a, Hisvadiyus 5749:3 pg. 139)