We hold on to this belief that after a tough loss, a good ass-chewing is needed to right the ship. That tirades like Davis’s show passion. And any display of the opposite, say laughing and joking on the bus ride home, shows players don’t care. We should feel the pain. And if we don’t, it’s a major problem. The only issue with that narrative? It goes against everything we know about the psychology of losing. Joking around, realizing that it is, in fact, a game and not real, and moving on from sorrow to excitement are the exact behaviors that research shows lead to better performance the next go
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