The best athletes don’t just train hard, they think better under pressure.
You can stack plates, chase PRs, and build all the horsepower you want, but if your mind folds the second the lights come on, you’re done. That’s where I dig in with Sabrina Shapiro. We go from her days in NCAA fencing to what she’s doing now in the trenches of performance coaching. Spoiler alert, the real fight isn’t physical. It’s mental.
We get into the ugly truth about performance anxiety, why it takes out even the most prepared athletes and why most training programs completely ignore the mental side of the equation. We dig into resilience, not the Instagram highlight reel, but the kind built through getting punched in the mouth, questioning yourself, and showing back up anyway. Sabrina breaks down how to build real self-compassion without turning soft, how to turn fear into fuel, and how to show up when it counts.
If you’ve ever done all the work and still come up short when it matters, this one’s for you.
If you’re ready to take this beyond talk and actually put it into practice, Sabrina is currently enrolling for her Breakthrough Blueprint Course. A deep dive into building discipline, confidence, and a resilient mindset that holds up under pressure. Enrollment closes May 1st 2026, and Power Athlete Radio listeners can use the code POWERATH for an exclusive discount.
If you want to dominate your life, crush your goals, and hear straight talk from the world’s best, SUBSCRIBE to Power Athlete Radio – because iron sharpens iron:
TRAIN WITH US: Field Strong
SOURCES
Tagged: Anxiety / Mental Game / Mental Training / Mindset / Performance / fencing / mental / performance anxiety
AUTHOR
John
John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and host of Power Athlete Radio. He is a 9 year starter and veteran of the NFL. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and for starter for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. He was a four year lettermen while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympic athletes and Military. He travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition and records his podcast, Power Athlete Radio, every week with over 800 episodes spanning 13 years. You can catch up with John as his personal blog, Talk To Me Johnnie, on social media @johnwelbourn or at Power Athlete Radio.
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