“As far as trusting yourself… the power of sport is unparalleled because it is evidence over affirmation. You don’t tell yourself, ‘Oh, I can handle the pressure. Oh, I’m so great.’ You do it time and time again.
Sports are really honest because you can’t lie to yourself. You know when you stayed late, and other people weren’t there. You know when you showed up early and other people weren’t there. You know when you gave 100% in training, day in and day out, for months and months.
So it’s not about, you know, at the last second telling myself a chipper little line and calling it a day. It’s the fact that I look back on quite literally years—like, a decade—of hard work, of pouring my heart and soul into this sport.
So, yeah, it’s trusting myself, but it’s building that trust every day. And so that’s a big reason why I encourage more young girls to get into sports, because I think the power it has to build and instill that confidence in people is a really special and unique thing.”
—Eileen Gu.
