`Mentally, That`s a Whole `Nother Ball Game`

.....A global pandemic like the novel coronavirus isn’t good for anyone’s mental well-being, Olympic legend or not, but experts say elite athletes face a unique challenge. They may feel anything from anxiety and uncertainty to fear and anger to sadness and even grief over the postponement and cancellation of their competitions. Coping, often through trying to re-create some semblance of routine, is its own challenge.....

.....Greg Harden, the University of Michigan’s executive associate athletic director and director of athletic counseling, who’s counseled the likes of Tom Brady and Michael Phelps, draws the same comparison. “There’s a tremendous sense of loss. It’s like losing a loved one, when you take sports away,” he says. “Because sports may have been the stabilizing force in my universe.”......