From the St Mary's estate in Southampton, where several of his family members still live, to becoming a Club World Cupu2011winning England international, Chelsea's Levi Colwill has had time recently to reflect on his journey.
The 23u2011yearu2011old has been out for seven months after surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - the most serious setback of his career to date - and has been managing that enforced pause through books.
It has given him space to think about life away from the pitch.
"Because I'm using less energy dayu2011tou2011day, I find it harder to switch off at night," Colwill told BBC Sport.