Perhaps you have seen the video of Thierno Barry in tears after a one-on-one session last season. The Everton striker was doing extra work with his individual coach when it all became too much. Struggling for form, he felt unable to train his way back into it.
Sometimes there is an assumption that every top player is living the dream but when things are not going well, and the whole world is watching, it can feel like a nightmare. "That was real emotion," Scott Chickelday tells Sky Sports. "They were true tears." Chickelday is the coach who was taking that session with Barry that day, the man trying to coax him into continuing.
"He was on the floor when I met him and that video obviously shows it," he says. Thierno Barry featured in all 38 of Everton's Premier League games last season following his move from Villarreal. Twenty-one appearances came from the start and 17 from the bench.
Barry's decision to share the footage is an indication in itself that he is in a better place now. But there are still those who might argue that it is a risk in this robust industry to reveal any vulnerability. "It could have gone two ways for him," concedes Chickelday.
But the response has been supportive. "When you play badly as a player you get labelled for picking up your money and not caring. That video, a lot of Everton supporters have looked at it and thought, 'you know what, yes, he does bloody care'." The very fact that Barry sought out Chickelday says plenty about his desire.
He is doing all that he can to succeed. Maybe now he is reaping the rewards. "He has had a big pre-season, putting himself in extra camps to get fit, to get himself mentally tougher." The result?
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