The mind makes sense of the world by running a narrative that’s not unlike a movie. Major events happen that tell us where we are in the story and why: we are born, we grow up, we become trained in something, we get married, friends die.
Training to be an Olympian is always hard. It requires long hours of physical training, sacrifice as a personal and social life is put on hold, focus, determination and the ability to remain mentally tough. While it’s the physical side everyone focuses on, because it’s the most visible, it’s the mental one that actually makes a difference big enough to deliver the medals.