They see things in very specific quantities, not always as systems. If you apply a force to an object, you put energy into the system. Energy must be used to do work or accelerate an object. You can also find energy in electricity, magnetism, kinetic energy, potential energy, springs and different states of matter. Energy is not something you can hold or touch.
Energy is a word to describe the power and effort and a force.
As we said, energy can be found in many places. KE is an energy which can be applied to another object. The classic example is to pick up a brick. When on the ground, the brick had no energy. Now the brick can do something it can fall.