It was Kevin Love who reminded us all that everyone’s going through something.
A year later, almost to the day, Gordon Hayward has opened up about his own internal struggle.
Speaking with ESPN veteran Jackie MacMullan this week, Hayward revealed he was seeing a counsellor to get past the mental scars left behind by his sickening foot injury.
For Hayward, the primary battle is returning to “normal”, getting to a place where he once again feels comfortable on and off the court.
“It’s hard,” Hayward told MacMullan. “It’s embarrassing. You want to be the guy that says, ‘I’m strong. I don’t need any help.'”
As well as his counselling sessions, Hayward has previously confided in Paul George, who needed two years to fully recovery from the broken leg he suffered in 2014.
“Patience,” George implored during some of Hayward’s darkest days. “Focus on who you are, not who you used to be.”
Making things even harder is that his fight to return to his old ways is unfolding under immense public scrutiny.
When Hayward first went down, he was working on his recovery more or less behind closed doors.
Now, he’s still working his way back during games in front of millions of eyeballs.
That isn’t easy.
Neither is asking for help.
But by pushing forward on both fronts, Hayward is at least on the right track.
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