Nothing Gold Can Stay

The gloss is gone. The edge, no longer there. He who once hit buzzer-beating three-pointers and played with a perceptible passion in his eyes has now become a walking zombie. At best, flashes of brilliance of years passed. At worst, deteriorating from the inside out. What he lacks is motivation, which is now apparent in his dead eyes. When you've been through so much, from winning the highest accolades of your sport, to losing and being booed everywhere you go (not to mention a rape trial), it's gonna take a whole lot more than a contract renewal in a now-mundane game that you very nearly mastered years ago to keep your interest. The sad part is, there may not be anything else. Jordan took a year off and a failed stint at baseball to rejuvenate his love for the game. I don't know how good your swing is Kobe, but I'm sure it's not good enough to hit Roger Clemens' roidballs.
You can see it in his eyes: a young man, lost. Heralded out of high school as the air apparent, determined and diligently improving body and mind every year, reaching near-perfection with the Shaquille O'neal Lakers, and now facing the suffocation of mediocrity, largely in part due to his own waning dedication. Once you've been the best, it's hard to want it again. Once you've conquered every challenge with open arms and a head full of steam, it's hard to find reason to do it again. Especially, when you've succeeded. Congratulations Kobe, your self-thirst to make yourself better has now put you on the cusp of futility. Don't fight it. You deserve the opportunity to relax.