The locker room at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics was frozen even colder than the ice outside. 

Five consecutive losses. The number was simple, but its weight was crushing. These athletes had spent years preparing, repeating the same motions hundreds of thousands of times for this very stage. But now, their bodies were “burning.” Standing on the ice, their nervous systems were trapped in a state of internal fire. 

The Trap of “Positive Thinking” 

After five defeats, the athletes’ bodies were literally radiating heat from hyperarousal. In that state, they kept repeating internal commands: “I have to do this,” “I can do it.” 

From a Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) perspective, these cognitive “musts” only tighten the nervous system further. When the body perceives a threat and enters a state of “freeze,” forced positivity creates a dissonance that heightens tension. Curling is a sport of extreme sensitivity; it requires feeling the microscopic textures of the ice. A body on fire cannot receive those signals. They didn’t need analysis; they needed to cool their nervous systems. 

Completing the Cycle of Arousal 

I suggested interval running—a choice that might seem counterintuitive for exhausted athletes. However, hyperarousal doesn’t vanish by suppressing it. You must experience the “completion” of the arousal cycle—letting the energy rise and then settle naturally—before the nervous system can let go. 

The athletes ran. They intentionally pushed their arousal to the limit and then practiced bringing it down through slow walking. This helped their bodies remember that they weren’t stuck in one state but could flexibly move between activation and rest. We followed this with “Voo” breathing, using low-frequency vibrations to stimulate the vagus nerve and trigger a deep relaxation response. Only then did the heat begin to dissipate and their shoulders finally dropped. 

Allowing the Emotions to Pass Through 

As the physical heat subsided, the underlying emotions surfaced: frustration, grief, and anger. 

I didn’t rush them. I simply sat with a player who began to sob, neither stopping nor “cheering” them. Creating space for emotions to move through the body can support greater regulation and integration. The tears and tremors that had no room during those five losses finally began to flow. Once the “emotional residue” was discharged, their bodies regained their natural rhythm. 

Returning to the “Self” 

Finally, it was time to return to the present. I had each athlete say their name slowly. This was a moment to step down from the heavy title of “National Representative” and return to being a human being. We practiced grounding—feeling the weight of their feet on the floor and their bodies against the chairs. 

“This isn’t your first game. This is just one of the hundred thousand times you’ve done this over the past 20 years. Your body already knows the way.” 

Through grounding practices and gentle somatic orientation, we worked to help the athletes reconnect with a felt sense of steadiness and regulation they could return to during competition. 

The Restoration of Rhythm 

In the next game, the atmosphere had shifted. Instead of “trying harder,” they had returned to their own rhythm. Their breathing was synchronized, and their movements were connected. The result? Three consecutive wins. 

It wasn’t a sudden leap in technique. They had simply returned to “themselves in a regulated state.” 

Elite sports often demand that we “be strong” or “stay focused.” But the nervous system doesn’t respond to commands; it responds to safety, completion, and connection. What I witnessed that day wasn’t just a comeback—it was a profound recovery. They didn’t become different athletes; they reclaimed the capacity to be themselves. 

Author Bio 

Jikang Kim is a Somatic Experiencing®  Practitioner supporting elite athletes in high-performance environments, including at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games. Her work focuses on helping athletes regulate their nervous systems under pressure, restoring resilience, presence, and embodied performance. She is committed to expanding access to SE for those who need it most.