What Athletes Should Do When Their Confidence Depends on Stats and Results

Many athletes tie their self-confidence directly to stats, wins, and recent performances. When they play well, they feel confident. When they struggle, their confidence drops — and that drop in confidence makes it even harder to turn things around. This creates a frustrating cycle of slumps, pressure, and underperforming.

In this episode, mental performance coach Eli Straw explains why confidence tied to results is unstable and how this pattern increases fear of mistakes, stress, and timid play. More importantly, he outlines a clear strategy to help you separate your confidence from outcomes and build belief based on controllable process habits instead.

You’ll learn:

• Why confidence that depends on results keeps athletes stuck in slumps
• How fluctuating confidence leads to tight, hesitant performance
• Why athletes become afraid of their own reaction to mistakes
• How to build confidence from preparation, effort, and mindset
• How to redefine success during games in a way that stabilizes performance
• The mindset shift required to let go of outcomes and reclaim control

If you’re tired of feeling confident only when things are going well, this episode will help you build stable, process-based confidence that holds up under pressure — even during bad games.

For athletes who want deeper support, Eli also shares how his 12-week one-on-one mental performance coaching program helps athletes build lasting confidence and mental resilience.

🧠 If you want to strengthen your mental game and work directly with me, you can learn more about my personalized 1-on-1 mental performance coaching program here: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching

🥇Team Mental Performance Coaching Program: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-coaching-for-teams/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.