After a loss, own your part out loud. Teams trust the player who goes first.

In the minutes after a bad result, everybody is waiting to see where the blame is going to settle. Whoever speaks first sets the shape of it. Naming your own mistake takes the hunt out of the room and makes it safe for the next person to do the same, which is how a team gets through a loss without taking it apart. It also costs you very little, since everyone already saw what happened.

Say one specific thing you got wrong and then stop talking. No excuse attached and no mention of anybody else’s. Do it before the coach does, in front of the group rather than privately.