Even if you know absolutely nothing about Australian basketball, you know Lauren Jackson.
The woman is an absolute powerhouse and has been described as Australia’s answer to Michael Jordan or Shaquille O’Neal – not even the female answer, but the Australian equivalent.
Pair that kind of pressure to perform with the injuries Jackson had sustained from a prolific career and she was forced to turn to prescription painkillers.
“Because of the injuries that I had, there are high stakes,” the 35-year-old told Four Corners.
“You’re getting paid a lot of money to perform, and when you’re a franchise player or someone that is expected to perform day in, day out, you do what you have to do to get by.
“For me, that was painkillers and sleeping pills, generally.”
The professional athlete described the “lot of stuff” she depended on as a “nightmare”.
“Having to get off everything was really, really, really hard.”
Jackson also divulged the immense struggles and isolation faced by professional athletes when they are forced into retirement at often a young age.
“Once your career is over, you’ve got to recreate yourself in a way that other people just don’t have to,” she said.
“One of my good friends from America said to me: ‘you know athletes die two times’ and it’s true.
“You are on an island, you are on your own. For your entire life, you’re being told you’re the best, you’re the greatest.
“Then all of a sudden, there’s no one there.”
This is far from a new phenomenon. Sport stars are highly-sought after in their prime and dedicate their entire lives to remaining at the top of their game, only to be thrown aside when a younger, fitter model arrives on the scene.
Earlier this year, the untimely death of former Wallaby Dan Vickerman highlighted the struggles elite athletes face once they retire.
In the wake of his death, Vickerman’s teammates revealed he had often expressed how difficult the transition from professional sport is.
“I think it’s just such a tragedy that our much-loved mate felt so alone at that moment, to do what he did,” Former Wallabies hooker Brendan Cannon told Four Corners.
“All of us at different times have had really dark periods post-football.
“And Dan was one of those, Dan was no exception, really. He had dark periods away from football, in his transition.
“We rallied around him, a couple of times, and we thought that we’d managed to get him out of the darker periods.”
Cannon explained why exactly the transition is so difficult for elite athletes.
“You go from being the king of your domain, where you know exactly what your job is, the influence you can have on your teammates … then all of a sudden, you’re standing on your own in a room full of strangers, which are your new work friends.
“And they’re wanting to talk to you about what you used to be, and all you want to focus on is what you want to become.”
