Mm-hmm.

And then we start to climb these different mountains that just have a little bit more depth, a little bit more meaning, a little bit more how do we give back to other people, how do we cultivate, um, communities that, uh, you know, help each other thrive.

And, um, it's just a, it's a different way to live life, like you're saying.

And that episode 73 was all about me coming back from Switzerland and watching people...

Now, remember, I'm observing it as a tourist, basically, so who, who really knows the conditions of, in people's stories of their lives? But what I saw was a lot of people enjoying the day-

Yeah.

So self-determination theory has this continuum of a, of, like, from amotivation to extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation.

So the goal is to move to more intrinsic motivation where we take autonomous actions in our life to move our life into the directions that is the most deeply fulfilling and meaningful.

Wow

... how governments govern.

It's, it's just a fascinating framework.

And don't get me wrong, there's lots of theories out there and frameworks to study human behavior.

But self-determina- and, and I'll make the loop back to triathlon and what I found in my research, but self-determination theory says we have three basic psychological needs: the need for autonomy, the need for competence, and the need for relatedness.

Okay? Autonomy means that we take actions in our life to do the things that we wanna do, that we feel freedom, that we feel empowerment to take those actions, to be a triathlete, to be a PhD student, to follow the things that w- that bring joy and purpose and meaning into our lives.

Okay? And it's a process to get there, right? We're not always there.

Right

So what's it been like to carry that responsibility as captain of the team?

Yeah, I'll just say that the one consistent at Angel City since I've been here has been change.

So it's been something that we're almost getting used to at this point.

Um, it's hard having new players coming in and having players that are really important to the group going out, um, ha- getting a new head coach.

It is really difficult and you never know how different people are gonna react or how different people are gonna feel.

Um, so for me, it's just trying to, uh, be intuitive and understand what people need in the moment.

We have a great leadership group, we have a, a great captain group, um, and some great leaders on this team.

And beyond just the tac- tactics, right, there's a, there's a whole human element in, inside of the game that not many, you know, fans and supporters, uh, or anyone on the outside can really see, right? So, from a personal perspective, how have you been able to manage, you know, those emotions, especially through a really difficult season, um, to keep the group connected, but also just, you know, hone in on, on your own personal journey as a footballer and make sure that you're at the top of your game, you know, week in and week out?