I empathise with any aging player, having been through the process myself over the last few years. It is incredibly frustrating to have the same football mind trapped inside a body that is only weakening and letting you down more as the years pass. You feel like you are the same player you were at your peak and it's hard to let go of that and accept that you're just not.
My sympathies. I know it's a huge struggle, and mental health in football (especially post-career) is a dark underbelly that is often swept under the rug.
I don't know what that is like personally, as I've never had much footballing ability to lose in the first place. Though I've had vaguely similar experiences in regard to some mental pursuits, mainly related to my prolonged lack of sleep from insomnia. In that sense I'm familiar with the feeling of lost ability and frustration at your body (or mind) betraying you.
I empathise with any aging player, having been through the process myself over the last few years. It is incredibly frustrating to have the same football mind trapped inside a body that is only weakening and letting you down more as the years pass. You feel like you are the same player you were at your peak and it's hard to let go of that and accept that you're just not.
My sympathies. I know it's a huge struggle, and mental health in football (especially post-career) is a dark underbelly that is often swept under the rug.
I don't know what that is like personally, as I've never had much footballing ability to lose in the first place. Though I've had vaguely similar experiences in regard to some mental pursuits, mainly related to my prolonged lack of sleep from insomnia. In that sense I'm familiar with the feeling of lost ability and frustration at your body (or mind) betraying you.