He that fails in his endeavors after wealth or power will not long retain either honesty or courage.

Chasing something hard changes what you can afford to be. If your whole standing rests on money or position, a bad run does not stay financial; it presses on your honesty, because the truth becomes expensive and small compromises start to look survivable. That is a warning about staking everything on one outcome, not a verdict on anyone who has lost.

If you are in a tight stretch, name one or two lines you will not cross and say them out loud to somebody. It helps to build some part of your worth outside the scoreboard, so a bad year cannot buy you.