Athletes struggle to find purpose, identity after sports | Special Report

.....Athletes forced to leave their sports, through injury, graduation or retirement, routinely battle depression and anxiety. It affects elites and amateurs of all ages, across the spectrum of sport, gender and competitiveness.

It’s a crisis hidden beneath a facade of strength and drowned out by the roar of the crowds.

No other place in society glorifies perfection — and suffering — like sports.....

.....But painting athletes in a gilded, glossy finish muddies the line between the grind and challenges with mental health — for players, coaches and even parents. The hurdles athletes face can take on a new scope when traumatic injury, age, or other unavoidable factors threaten, or end, lifelong pursuits.

At a 2018 panel, Michael Phelps, the most successful Olympian of all time, recounted the words he said to his wife after his retirement:

“I feel like I’m failing in everything that I do.”.....