"I just feel like it's been such a crazy, crazy life."
That's Sydney Leroux putting it lightly. Calling it "crazy" feels like an understatement. So much has happened. So much good, so much bad. And, as she nears the end of her playing career, she's starting to reflect on it all just a little bit.
It takes time to develop that perspective. As a young player, or just as a young person in general, life always feels like it's on the move. For Leroux, doubly so. There was always the next game, the next U.S. women's national team camp, the next trophy. When you're a professional athlete playing at that level, you aren't allowed the freedom of reflection.
She has that luxury nowadays, just a bit at least. She can sit back and think about the highs: the World Cup, the Olympic medal, the moments in the spotlight. She can think about the lows, too: the difficult decisions, the loneliness, the emotions, the injuries.
And, as she reflects, she sees herself viewing her own life through a different lens. For years, she looked backwards through the lens of an athlete. Now, she looks back through the lens of a mother. And, having looked through that lens for a few years now, she still can't quite fathom what she sees.
"I moved away from my mom," she tells GOAL. "I was just basically alone since I was 14. I feel like you do all of these things because you have this huge dream ahead of you, but I also look at it now, and I'm like, 'wow, I accomplished so, so much but I also gave up so much'.
"I've been thinking about that lately because, of course, I'm nearing the end. I'm not there yet, don't worry! But, still, I'm like 'oh, wow'. I think back to what my mom did for me. She was unbelievable. If my 14-year-old daughter came to me and was like 'I have this dream, I want to do all these things, will you send me away so I can do that?' I don't know what I'd say. I just don't know."
Ahead of the 2024 NWSL season, Leroux sat down with GOAL to discuss her changing perspective, the public and private moments of motherhood that she loves so much, and what's left for her to achieve before her time as an athlete comes to an end.