Being a former WNBA player, Stephanie White always knew the challenges of getting injured. So, no one could explain Caitlin Clark’s situation better than her. “It’s tough and frustrating when you’re putting in all the work but can’t be out there with your team,” she shared. And CC participated in drills, spent “hours in the gym” but nothing worked. She’s now out for the season. But it wasn’t just about missing trophies, All-Star moments, or even the playoff push. What stung her the most was an even tougher battle.

Growing up with two brothers, Colin and Blake, the 23-year-old Iowa native had always been competitive. She even once got kicked out of her gym for being overly competitive. As she grew up, Iowa and the W became her battleground. But it wasn’t just about complaining to refs—it was the mentality that kept her moving. Fast forward to her W sophomore year, she didn’t get to let her emotions out on the ground, and it had consequences.

For CC, those were fighting an internal battle all while recovering from injuries. “I’m so competitive and emotional at times… finding a way to control your emotions is something I’ve always had to navigate. You accept you’re an emotional person, and that’s good. That’s probably why I’m good at basketball,” she shared in a recent interview.

Last year, Ms. Caitlin was offered to participate in the All-Star Game three-point shooting competition with the NBA. But she denied it, hoping her first would come in Indy with the W. But after a year-long wait, when the moment came, she was sidelined. It was a right groin injury—something she learned about in the middle of the game.

For an athlete who just got back, getting injured again in a crucial moment is a lot. She was then spotted leaning on the stanchion, a towel over her face, visibly crushed. And just weeks later, sidelined in a black sweatshirt, she sat in frustration, helplessly watching her Fever fight without her.

But all this while, she had some unsung heroes making a big difference in her day-to-day life with Stephanie White’s team in the Hoosier State. “I’ve always had a lot of really great people in my circle, and those are the same people I always lean on, friends and family,” Caitlin Clark shared back in an interview in July.

“I think Coach Bri (Briann January), she’s been through injuries herself, and she’s always kind of just been there. Even if I’m in the weight room extra after practice, she’ll come in there and talk to me and just help me work through the extra lifting that I have to do… because she’s experienced,” she added. While Stephanie White let CC come along and watch games to learn from them, the Fever locker room supported too. And then, CC was just unstoppable.

From supporting her mates to fighting with refs, she did everything from the sidelines. But she was recovering too. So, dealing with pain and adversities at the same time, having someone to talk to was always a therapy. And Coach Bri, having first-hand experience, knew that. But the major test came when it was time to announce that CC would be out for the season.

“I had hoped to share a better update, but I will not be returning to play this season,” she wrote on X, despite being limited to just 13 games. “Disappointed isn’t a big enough word… This has been incredibly frustrating, but even in the bad, there is good. The way the fans continued to show up… brought me so much joy and perspective.”

But despite this statement, it wasn’t enough for her fans. Their outrage was instant as they lost the ability to see her as a weapon despite being hopeful.

And it’s understandable. Athletes across the globe are programmed to play through pain. “Pain is weakness leaving the body; what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”—it’s a slogan almost every athlete would have known since childhood. But CC knew, as her rushed comeback after July proved costly, it was time to take a sound decision. And she did. But it wasn’t just her friends and family who helped!

What was Caitlin Clark’s healing routine?

For CC, there were a lot of things that helped her healing and stress. At first, it was a sports psychologist on Indy’s staff, with whom she paid regular visits to talk about how she was feeling. “We have a sports psychologist on our staff who I sometimes meet with multiple times a week, to not only talk about basketball but other things in life, and that’s something that’s been important to me over the course of my career,” she shared in an interview with Glamour on July 22.

But it wasn’t just this. She did everything, but nothing was better than “rest and recovery, than just straight up sleeping.” She also preferred one of her favorite ways to de-stress: rewatching Disney movies. “The other day I watched The Parent Trap, which literally never gets old, even though I know every single word in it,” she shared. For her, silence and calming songs helped too.

But her favorite way to unwind was playing golf. And when she wasn’t doing any of these activities, it was simple journaling therapy—something most of us do, writing things down. She did it too. “It makes me really intentional about what I want to accomplish and is a good reset if I’m feeling nervous or anxious about the game, to kind of wipe that away,” Clark explained in the interview.

While all these helped, her journey hasn’t ended just yet. Indy’s into the playoffs with two back-to-back wins against the Mystics and Sky. Their seed depends on the next win, though, against the Minnesota Lynx. So, can CC witness her mates winning from the sidelines?