The “if-then” trap commonly plagues elite athletes as well. After ten NBA seasons, eight All-Star selections, four scoring championships, and an MVP award, NBA legend Kevin Durant finally won his first NBA championship in 2017 with the Golden State Warriors. But the summer after, he became distant and despondent. Steve Nash, an adviser to the Warriors at the time, described it this way: “He was searching for what it all meant. He thought a championship would change everything and found out it doesn’t. He was not fulfilled.”
