Perhaps since she started playing softball as a young girl, Kelly Inouye-Perez had never been away from the sport as long as she was in 2020. After UCLA’s season was canceled in March because of the pandemic, the head coach’s regularly scheduled practices, road trips and games were gone.
When she should have been defending a national championship with her No. 1-ranked team, Inouye-Perez was attacking long walks and hikes. She filled the quiet paths with Apple Music playlists. That’s where she found what would become UCLA’s mantra for its long-awaited return to the field.