The Making of Marcus Rashford

Daniel Leal-Olivas/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The whole story can be distilled from the single conversation that started it all. A few weeks ago, Marcus Rashford was sitting at home with his family, watching the news pour in and the storm clouds gather.

Country after country was going into lockdown because of the coronavirus: Italy first, then Spain, then France. It seemed it was only a matter of time before Britain followed suit. Rashford and his family, like the rest of us, started chewing over what might happen next, all the what-ifs that come with a great unknown, as he put it.

But as they talked, Rashford found himself thinking less about how the crisis might affect him as he is…