THE PAIN AND DISAPPOINTMENT
OF LOSING ARE WORSE THAN THE PAIN
FROM INJURY.
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 14 APRIL 6, 2021 P121
Summers and this subject came
up. Scott had an incredible
career in racing and is one of
the most accomplished off-road
riders of all time, with five GNCC
National Championships and
four National Hare Scrambles
Championships. But it didn't
come without challenges. From
broken collarbones to a severely
fractured femur, he had his fair
share of injuries along the way.
But as all the greats do, he was
always able to overcome those
challenges and get right back
up to speed to compete at the
highest level. He amassed 69
national overall victories, 15
national class championships,
three ISDE gold medals, and
finished third in his one and only
attempt at the Baja 1000.
During our lunch, I made a
comment about how he must
have really large attachments,
since he shows no fear at all
even after a bad crash. But Scott
quickly disagreed with me and
instead went on to tell us how he
approaches injury and how he's
able to be right back up to race
pace. He told us that during his
recovery he analyzes the crash
that caused the injury over and
over again in his mind. Recount-
ing time and time again exactly
what happened until he's certain
that he understands why it hap-
pened—how it happened—and
then he trains his mind to not
repeat the same mistake. By
doing this, he says that the crash
becomes irrelevant history, and
he no longer thinks about it
once he's back on the bike. He
views the accidents as one-offs
against the backdrop of thou-
sands of hours of seat time. The
immense practice he's put in to
develop and hone his talent is
still there after an accident. One
mishap doesn't erase all that
muscle memory and skill. So, by
analyzing what went wrong, he
incorporates the accident into
his lifetime body of work—and
uses it as a learning opportunity.
He also said that for him the
pain and disappointment of los-
ing are worse than the pain from
injury. It wasn't so much about
wanting to win as it was about
not wanting to lose. From the in-
vestment of time and sweat while
training to get back in physical
shape, to the hours and hours of
practice, to the personal sacri-
fice, for him all of this made the
thought of losing unbearable,
thereby erasing the worry and
fear of another accident.
So maybe that's the key to
a successful racing career at
the highest levels of our sport:
to fear losing more than get-
ting hurt. Train your mind to
understand why an accident
happened and then put it behind
you as one more learning experi-
ence. That way, you can focus
on the joy of winning and never
feel the pain of losing. CN
TRAIN YOUR
MIND TO
UNDERSTAND
WHY AN
ACCIDENT
HAPPENED AND
THEN PUT IT
BEHIND YOU
AS ONE MORE
LEARNING
EXPERIENCE.
