He Said "Screw This" and Got His Confidence Back — How to Stop Overthinking Who You Are

He Said "Screw This" and Got His Confidence Back — How to Stop Overthinking Who You AreWhat happens when everyone around you believes in you — but you don't believe in yourself?Cole LaCrue knows. He was Colorado's 4A Player of the Year, a state champion in two sports, and had scholarship offers from programs most athletes only dream about. Then he got to college and spent the next two years buried — two surgeries, an injury report he couldn't escape, and the slow realization that being "the guy" in high school meant nothing anymore. When he entered the transfer portal, school after school looked at his medical file and passed. He found himself in a dark place, asking a question no competitor ever wants to ask: Is this it for me?This episode is about the moment between giving up and getting back. Cole doesn't just talk about what happened to him — he walks you through what it feels like to lose your identity, to watch people invest in a version of you that you're no longer sure exists, and to make the decision to stop performing and start being yourself again. If you've ever been stuck in your own head, chasing a version of success that keeps moving further away, Cole's story will hit different.What you'll hear in this episode:How losing his father at 16 forced Cole to choose between self-pity and becoming the man he was raised to beThe coaching conversation that stopped him in his tracks: "If I believe in you and you don't believe in yourself, what am I believing in?"What it felt like to go from the top of the world to the bottom of the totem pole The exact practice where he said "screw this" and decided to go back to being himselfWhy he believes consistency — not talent — is the habit that separates people who make it from people who don'tHow controlling what you can control as a quarterback taught him to stop overthinking outcomesHis advice for anyone who feels like they're one foot away from quitting: keep diggingKey quote: "If I believe in you and you don't believe in yourself, what am I believing in?"Connect with Cole: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacruecole18/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lacruecole18X: https://x.com/lacruecole18YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lacruecole18Connect with Sam: samnott.comSubscribe to Simple Wins on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. New episodes drop weekly.