I think you can be curious when you are afraid, it is a matter of recognizing the fear and coming back to the present moment. Curiousity only resides in the present moment, the past is a shadow of how we percieve it. The future is just intention of what we want or don’t want. Curiousity is in the observance of the now. It enables a conscious unfolding of our lives if we choose to let it. Yes fear stops this spontaneous movement, but if we notice the fear in tandem with our curiosity then we can still move forward into a “flourishing life”.