Chris Duvall is a former professional soccer player who spent eight seasons competing in Major League Soccer, playing for multiple clubs including the New York Red Bulls, Montreal Impact, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers, and FC Cincinnati. After retiring from professional soccer, Chris faced the transition many athletes experience — figuring out how to redirect the intensity, discipline, and identity that come with competing at the highest level.

In this episode, Chris opens up about a pivotal moment in his career when a serious leg injury forced him to confront the mental and emotional challenges of being sidelined. Initially skeptical of therapy, he eventually sought help after experiencing symptoms of PTSD following the injury — a decision that ultimately reshaped his perspective on mental health and personal growth.

Chris shares what it looked like to rebuild his life after sport: finishing his graduate degree while still playing, briefly coaching, and eventually stepping into a new career as a mortgage lender in St. Louis. He reflects on the difficulty of shifting from constantly proving yourself as an athlete, to building a sustainable life where your worth isn’t defined by performance.

This conversation explores identity beyond sport, the power of mental health support, and the challenge of learning where to place your energy after leaving a career built on giving everything to the game.

Sophia Woodland is a former Division I soccer player from Boston University, where she competed for four years while studying business and minoring in psychology, graduating in 2023. In this episode, Sophia reflects on the reality behind her collegiate career — from feeling voiceless in a difficult team environment her first two years to beginning therapy and learning to separate her self-worth from her performance on the field.

She shares how adopting a new mindset her junior year helped her reclaim some joy, and how a coaching change her senior year allowed her to enjoy the game again. For Sophia, the hardest part of leaving collegiate soccer was leaving the daily access to her teammates and built in community.

Sophia speaks candidly about the importance of coaching culture, power dynamics, and the silence many athletes feel pressured into. After the release of a documentary by Alex Cooper highlighting experiences under former coaches Nancy Feldman and Casey Brown, Sophia found herself revisiting her own experience. She discusses the fear of retaliation, the risks athletes face in speaking up, and the lasting impact of negative language — particularly around body image — during formative years.

Now based in Denver, Sophia serves as Head of Ratings at 2aDays, a platform designed to bring transparency to college athletics through coach and program reviews. Inspired by the belief that athletes have a responsibility to “leave the program better than you found it,” she is helping create space for honest feedback and systemic change. This conversation explores identity, accountability, the NCAA’s gaps in supporting athlete transitions, and the courage it takes to use your voice after years of being taught not to.

Maya Lorimer grew up in the dance studio, training competitively from the time she could walk and eventually earning a spot on the Arizona State University dance team — one of the top programs in the nation. During her time at Arizona, she balanced game days, appearances, and the pressure of re-auditioning annually just to keep her place. When her senior season was cut short by COVID, her dance career ended without the closure she had imagined. After graduating with a degree in urban planning, Maya found herself in an isolating cubicle job, struggling to adjust to life without the structure, intensity, and built-in community of dance. What followed was a pivot into social media — first as a manager, then freelancer, and now full-time content creator based in Denver.

In this episode, Maya reflects on rebuilding identity after sport, replacing the loss of team culture with new forms of community, and learning to say yes to opportunities before she felt fully ready. This conversation explores creativity, confidence, and what it really takes to build purpose beyond athletics.