In Lucky Me, Rich Paul writes:

Now I have to help guys in the league who used to be stars, but can’t let go of their ego and accept a new role. Then there are my young clients coming into the NBA; every one of them was once the star on their high school or college team, but in truth only a few of them will be the best player on an NBA team, let alone the best in the whole league. But they still need to work just as hard as the best player, maybe harder. I know what it means to wake up at six in the morning and get up extra shots in the gym with my guys.

Elite athletes aren’t small fish in a big pond. They are big fish, playing in the biggest pond in the world. Nobody gets to make it on their own; they need to win as a team, and that takes humility from everyone.