Apparently, Evan Lysacek's arm injury last year (which kept him out of Worlds) reinforced how much he loves skating after he went through somewhat of a burnout. That's according to this NBC Sports story.
Lysacek has always had a zenlike air about him, laid-back and cheery no matter the occasion. But staying upbeat wasn't so easy last year, as he discovered that the U.S. title he'd dreamed of carries with it some burdensome pressures.
Not just on the ice, either. Sponsors asked more and more of him, and of course he wanted to make them happy so he said "yes'' to just about everything. Soon, though, he found he was running ragged.
Skating was becoming a job, not a joy.
"I just was unhappy and I didn't love skating,'' the 23-year-old Lysacek said. "If I'm doing as my career something that I absolutely love, then I should love it every day. I shouldn't be nervous or dreading things or being like, 'I have to go to China today, I don't have time to do this.' It should be something amazing.''
Now though, he is back to being excited about skating. He spent the offseason working with icon Tatiana Tarasova and working on ballet. And Lysacek also got more involved with charity, setting up a benefit for childhood friend Stephanie Joseph, who died of cancer.
I'm excited to see all of Lysacek's changes. It's interesting how many skaters apparently were really not into skating last year, though. First Meissner, now Lysacek, and I'll soon be posting an article about Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto's big turnaround. I'm wondering if it's almost like the midterm elections. Two years out of the Olympics and people get a bit dissatisfied, before they make that last big push to the Olympics? Who knows, we'll see how it shakes out.