Four seconds left. Your team is up 3 points. You have two free throws to seal the biggest win of your career. You sink both and as the game ends you and your teammates are swarmed by an excited mob of students chanting your name. A dream come true.
Now imagine you were winless in conference coming into the game. That you’ve been running yourself into the ground at practice trying to improve enough to get even one more win. That there was a chance you might never win another game in your career. The win is no longer just a dream come true, it’s also the end of a nightmare.