Abstract
Resilience is a dynamic construct that is a cornerstone of athlete well-being and performance. As such, it is important to understand the promotive factors – individual, social, and contextual - that support the maintenance of resilience in athletes. The purpose of this study was to explore promotive factors athletes perceived to support or maintain their resilience over time. Nine athletes (6 women, 3 men; Mage= 24.22 years; SD= 3.96) completed 2 semi-structured interviews approximately 4 months apart as part of a larger longitudinal mixed methods study. Data were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019) within an interpretive description framework (Thorne, 2016). Interviews explored promotive factors, with an emphasis on navigating demands and supporting well-being. Four themes were generated that highlight what athletes identified as pivotal for the maintenance of their resilience over time and across different contexts: (1) Prioritize basic needs (adjust to dynamic contexts and support basic needs around physical activity, social connection, nutrition, and sleep); (2) Identify unique personal needs, plan, and communicate (accurately identify needs, effectively plan how to personally support yourself, and communicate what you need from others); (3) Be proactive, be able to be reactive, and regardless, be prepared (access resources and apply skills and strategies, considering personal needs, attributes, and context); and (4) Continual learning and refinement (it takes time, patience, effort, reflection, and experience to build skills that enhance and support resilience). Exploring athlete experiences over time will inform not only how to develop, but maintain, resilience.
