Because the sports world has shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes may not be able to physically train like they normally would. But sports psychologists like Silby believe now, perhaps more than ever, athletes can and should work on their mental fitness.
“I think everyone is trying to find their way, and certainly we’re encouraging people to talk about the worries and concerns that we all have,” she says. “In doing that, we’re also trying to cultivate some hope, because hope is one of the tools that helps us manage that primary emotion of fear. So that’s what we’re doing, and we’re trying to be as creative as we can in helping athletes to kind of have some safe places to talk about these things.”
