American snowboarder Shaun White has learned a lot of lessons since his disappointing finish at the 2014 Winter Olympics. USA TODAY Sports
MALIBU, Calif. — Months before a training crash in the halfpipe would leave him with 62 stitches in his face, Shaun White describes the balance he’d gained in his life since the last Olympics, the perspective he got from not winning.
In a warm hotel room in the closing days of summer, far away from the icy halfpipe that became a crucible before Sochi, that perspective is easy to hold.
Fast-forward to December, and White keeps it in his grasp as the process intensifies.