“I’ve been doing the sport since I was 8 years old, my dad started when he was about 10 years old so it’s been a family legacy for me. So there’s always been instant pressure on me, not from other people putting on me but for me living up to the expectations of what I feel like I’m supposed to live up to, it kind of got to me a bit and started to wear me down mentally to the point where I just didn’t want to train anymore at all. Like I didn’t enjoy it but it’s all I knew what to do, I’ve been doing it for 14 years, it’s literally the only thing I knew about life was paddling so I needed to take the time off. I had no intention on quitting, I knew I needed a break so it was kind of in the moment. So during my time off I just lived a normal life, just to experience it then I realized I actually missed this sport, actually not really the sport but the people in the sport. There wasn’t a time where I was like ‘I really wish I was paddling right now’, it was like ‘I wish I was with the guys right now’ and experiencing that 3 months later is very replenishing and I think I’m ready and hungry to get back.” – Jeremy Stott, Team Canada Canoer. (1/4)