Jonathan Martin finding his way a decade after NFL retirement

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JONATHAN MARTIN WAITS in the wings off stage in a half-full theater in Wilmington, Delaware. He's here to give a TEDx talk, "The Fiat Debt Spiral." It's about Bitcoin, and he's ready to be introduced.

Martin is an accomplished scholar. ... An entrepreneur. ... He was a professional athlete. ... A football player.

He walks into the glare of a spotlight, unable to see his parents' faces looking back from the third row. There's a microphone to his right and a video camera directly in front of him. Dressed in a button-down shirt and dark jeans, his outfit suggests business school mixer. But his 6-foot-6 frame suggests offensive lineman.

A few seconds pass. He takes a deep breath…