Isolation, boredom, loneliness and anxiety. During 12 months of living with social restrictions -- with all UK residents forced to remain home except for work, school or "essential activities" -- as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, few people will have been untouched by those states of mind. Even highly paid footballers are battling both the physical constraints and the emotional toll.
"I know one player whose dad was very ill and he wasn't sure if he would be able to see him again, so he asked me if he should just go and not tell the club," a member of a Premier League club's player care team told ESPN.