Three Pro Athletes Reveal Their Postgame Cheat Meals, Chill Playlists, and Decompression Routines

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With great skill and notoriety comes great responsibility, and that could not be more true of today’s professional athletes. Take gymnastics legend Simone Biles, who dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics to prioritize her mental wellness. Or tennis star Naomi Osaka, who sat out of the French Open to do the same. Or veteran Serena Williams, who got candid about experiencing postpartum depression while continuing to compete at a professional level. More than ever, pro athletes are recognizing and highlighting the importance of mental fitness, and slowly, brands are catching up.

Ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl and NBA All-Star weekend, Harper’s Bazaar sat down with three young stars making waves in their sports, all while dealing with the pressures of managing high-profile, short-term careers, and living under the 24-hour spotlight that social media has created.

Garrett Wilson, 23, Chelsea Gray, 31, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, 24, who are all on a growing list of Adidas pro athletes, joined the brand in Las Vegas last weekend for a panel discussion about maintaining their mental wellness and managing the stress brought on by their careers. Though each is at the top of their game—Wilson a wide receiver for the New York Jets, Gray a star point guard for the Las Vegas Aces, and St. Brown a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions—they all have completely different views on the concept of pressure, and choose to deal with it in entirely distinct ways—a testament to the fact that mental health is not linear or one-size-fits-all.

“One thing that’s really important to me is just reflecting—whether it’s after a game, after a tough week, or just a tough event—and realizing why it was tough, why I got to where I did, if I did well or not, and if I want to go about things in the same way next time,” Wilson tells Bazaar. “Once you are conscious about how you feel, you have an idea of how you can fix it or make it better.”

Gray agrees, and says understanding what she’s done makes her feel at ease. “It’s really hard for me to sleep after games, so I replay it in my head just to get it out,” she explains. “Sometimes I have to re-watch it and just know what I saw.”

Earlier this month, Adidas launched its “You Got This” campaign, focused on neutralizing pressure by revealing the impact it can have on performance. The brand worked with leading sports neuroscientists at Neuro11 to analyze professional and grassroots athletes’ brain activity during high-pressure moments, and from there to offer guidance on overcoming stress. The tips—“Do whatever you have to do to get into the right headspace” before a game, “Train to win, not to avoid losing,” “Use positive self-affirmations”—live on Adidas’s Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok accounts, aimed at young people most affected by stress.

Unlike Wilson and Gray, St. Brown says that rather than putting extra pressure on him, constant competition gives him energy, and that adrenaline is his peace. “It fuels me. I love it. It’s fun,” he says.

“I wasn’t raised to feel stress,” the two-time Pro Bowler explains. “I prepare a certain way mentally, so when I’m out there playing, it’s just another game for me. I know I put in the work. I fall back on my training and all the work that I did—not even just a week before, but my whole life—to get up to where I’m at now. I feel like I rise to the occasion for the most part, and I play better when there’s more pressure on me. I enjoy it when the lights are the brightest.”

Still, for most athletes, including Wilson and Gray, it’s important to create some distance from their sports once in a while, and to find other joys that help them remain centered and grounded.

“I do things that are away from basketball—hanging out with my family and my wife,” Gray says. “We just chill and watch TV, relax. I listen to different music—throwbacks like ‘What You Want’ by Mase, or Ja Rule; a lot of Bay Area songs that are a bit more chill and not so hyped. I write lyrics. I love to cook, so sometimes I’ll make a different meal or just need to be in the kitchen and get busy. That’s kind of my way to get away from it all.”

Wilson, an ambassador for bath and body brand Dr. Teal’s, unsurprisingly loves a postgame soak in bubbles. “See, that for me is very chilling—ever since I was in high school, it’s stayed with me that, you know, this is me lying back and giving myself a rest,” the former Ohio State star says. His bath playlist? Usually Daniel Caesar. “I like slow music like that,” he says. “Music can be so important for your mental health—just how you can change the whole vibe of your day with what you’re putting in your ears.”

And, Wilson adds, there’s nothing his mom’s home-cooked meals can’t cure. “My mom’s cooking is comfort for me, especially if she’s cooking sweet potato, yam—it’s over,” he says. “She makes the best sweet potato casserole I’ve ever had. I’m confident it can go toe to toe with anyone in the world. She kills it.”

Food is also a source of comfort for his fellow athletes. After a major game, St. Brown loves “a good cheeseburger, or steak, or pizza, or pasta.” Gray does the cooking herself. “I make a good barbecue, some turkey, or ground meatballs that are really good with sweet potatoes and asparagus, or like any type of vegetable—you gotta love a little brown sugar with sweet potatoes,” she says. “Also, my tacos are fire.”

During off-hours, many pro athletes opt for some kind of therapy to help them stay balanced. Wilson and Gray say they make an effort to be open with themselves about their feelings and to spend time with their supportive loved ones.

“What keeps me grounded is my journey of getting here. I’m entering my 10th year in the league, so it’s cool to see the growth that I’ve had since my rookie season,” says Gray, a big supporter of Adidas’s partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, focused on leveling the playing field for underserved youth, particularly girls in sports. “You know, sport is such a short snippet of your life, so you have to enjoy the journey.”

She adds: “I also think the people around me keep me grounded—they understand I’m a professional athlete at an all-time high, but they also give me the space to be vulnerable. My wife has really helped me in allowing me time to speak freely. Sometimes it takes a village.”

Wilson, who has also participated in projects to diversify American pro sports, says his wellness routine and perspective on mental health have evolved a lot since he joined the big leagues. “We have so many veterans that have gone through things that are hard and maybe didn’t get the help and emphasis on mental health that we get now,” he says. “They had to figure it out themselves, and, you know, I’m trying to make sure that I don’t go through it in the same way.”

One way he does this is by practicing meditation. “It’s hard for me. I have a hard time being quiet and not letting different thoughts pop into my head. But once I master that skill, I know I’ll have come a long way,” Wilson says.

Hand in hand with the You Got This campaign, Adidas has an ongoing partnership with mental health app Calm, letting users listen to everything from meditation guides to relaxing bedtime stories to inspiring advice and breath-work coaching.

“This is what works for me, specifically,” Wilson says. “But everyone’s got a different process, and whatever you find that works for you is what you should go at hard and try to improve off of.”

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