You don’t have to know how the whole season ends to play today’s game well.

Uncertainty about the long run gets used as a reason to hold back in the short one, as though effort needs a guaranteed destination to be worth spending. Most of what shapes an outcome is decided in ordinary days, before anyone can see where they lead. The plan can stay unfinished while the work continues.

Work out what today is actually for and do that part properly. Let the five-year question sit unanswered for now, since these weeks are part of the answer anyway. Checking the score constantly is what makes a season exhausting.