"Athletes have their own kind of relationship with pain. They play because they are so absorbed in playing that they don't notice injuries when they happen. The soldier who is shot keeps on going because the imperative to go on is so much more important than the imperative to fall. The explanation for such a miraculous act is purpose more than courage.
So players play. And players expect other players to play. Someone goes down in a hockey game and is helped off the ice. 'He'll be back,' the announcer says. 'He's a hockey player.' "
This quote, from the pages of Ken Dryden's "Game Change: The Life and Death of Steve Montador and the Future of Hockey" is haunting, and rings true to heart.