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How much discipline? In January 2012, I beat Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open. The match lasted five hours and fifty-three minutes—the longest match in Australian Open history, and the longest Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era. Many commentators have called that match the single greatest tennis match of all time. After I won, I sat in the locker room in Melbourne. I wanted one thing: to taste chocolate. I hadn’t tasted it since the summer of 2010. Miljan brought me a candy bar. I broke off one square—one tiny square—and popped it into my mouth, let it melt on my tongue. That was all I would allow myself. That is what it has taken to get to number one.
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Novak Đoković (Serve To Win: Novak Djokovic’s life story with diet, exercise and motivational tips)
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They found that when a team is trailing by one point at halftime, they are actually more likely to win than the team that is ahead. Why? A halftime score offers an intense social comparison for the trailing team. At halftime, the players stew with frustration at being so close, yet still behind. And so they emerge from the locker room full of motivation.
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Adam D. Galinsky (Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both)
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For the Blackhawks players, after years of being told “no,” of being told to shut up and keep your head down and be grateful you’re in the NHL at all, it was jarring to be told “yes” over and over and over again. It was motivating too. It was also kind of terrifying. That’s part of the genius of McDonough.
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Mark Lazerus (If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Blackhawks: Stories from the Chicago Blackhawks' Ice, Locker Room, and Press Box)