This piece talks about depression, anxiety, trauma, serious crashes and online abuse. If you need support, free helplines are listed at the end.

The lap is over, and it isn’t good enough. The driver knows before the timing screen does. A breath, a click of the radio button, and then the words every Formula 1 fan has heard a thousand times: “Let’s keep pushing.”

It’s the phrase of this sport. I’d bet it’s the one we hear more than any other. A driver, minutes after a bad race, is asked what comes next, and the answer is “I’ll keep pushing.” Keep going, keep working, keep moving forwards, keep looking ahead. Keep pushing.

But some days, some months, some years, they push back. And continuing to push forwards seems impossible. Maybe we look to friends or family to help work through what we’re feeling, by putting words to what those forces pushing against us are, the ones that leave us still or slide us backwards.