Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is opening up about how he turns losing into his personal motivation.
Williams is the cover star and one of nine athletes profiled for the debut of Esquire’s inaugural Maverick of the Sports segment, which is a new initiative that sees the publication highlighting nine athletes breaking the mold. Some of the additional athletes profiled include: Paul Skenes, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, Lindsey Vonn and more. With Williams being the cover star, there were lots of topics covered, including how the athlete uses losing as his personal fuel.
“I think those losses were pretty important for me and my growth. To go on a losing streak, to be in this position and be at the helm of it, was definitely important for me,” he told the publication, adding, “Just being able to see how I need to be when times are bad…I’m going to work my tail off to never be in that situation again.”
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Here are some additional highlights from the interview:
Caleb Williams on how losing so many games in his rookie year affected him:
“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never lost this much. I lost ten games in one season. I think maybe eleven. It’s actually more than eleven.”
Caleb Williams on how he handled his frustrations about losing games in private:
“When I got home, I got in my bed. I just dropped a few tears. And I was just so beat-up mentally, physically, spiritually.”
Caleb Williams on criticism:
“The thing is, I don’t think about what other people have to say about me. I can’t please everybody, so it’s not something I’m trying to do. I do have people in mind that I want to make sure that they know I care and know I work my tail off. And that’s my teammates, my family, people that actually know me. And then from there I couldn’t care less, is how I go about it.”
Caleb Williams on working with new Bears head coach Ben Johnson:
“I’m definitely excited. Ben and I, we’ve been working on our relationship. I’ve asked him a boatload of questions. He’s probably already tired of me, but I think it’s going to be great. The plan is to keep Ben and me together for a long, long time.”
Caleb Williams on the best moment from his first season:
“Beating the Packers.”
Caleb Williams on the NFL:
“I think the NFL game has become very friendly, and I don’t necessarily want to be friends, because I want to keep that competitive advantage.”
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