Coming back from an injury teaches a kind of patience no coach can.

Recovery runs on a schedule you do not control. Tissue heals at its own pace regardless of effort or how badly you want to be back, which is a strange thing to learn young. Pushing usually costs you more time than it buys. What is left is the small assigned work, done daily, with nothing visible to show for weeks.

If you are in the middle of one, make the boring part the whole job. Track something small so the invisible progress becomes visible. And be gentle with yourself on the days nothing seems to move.