Every athlete is wired differently but there is one common hatred among them all.
It's not losing, though it's hardly an enjoyable experience.
The one thing that every rugby league player despises is playing poorly.
Every week, preparation is designed to ensure they do the business on game day. Game day is the one day of the week that allows a player to demonstrate the work they are doing behind the scenes and the platform to create a reputation and a career.
When things don't go to plan, it's a wasted week, a wasted opportunity to create memories for fans. A chance to further your career gone.
When Wigan's 17 players trudged off the pitch in Perpignan three weeks ago, it wasn't the result that will have angered them. It will have been their individual and collective performances that resulted in the severity of the defeat.
The scoreline is, more often than not, a by-product of the performance. Rarely does a scoreline flatter what the team has produced and when it does, players and coaches are the first to say that's the case.
When they take on Hull KR on Friday night. There will be fans demanding a response, most likely in the shape of a heavy scoreline.
In reality, the result against Hull KR is not the priority at all. What's important is that Wigan start playing well again.
The Warriors haven't played well for weeks. Eventually, their performances caught up with them emphatically in France.
And that's why Adrian Lam won't be upset if Wigan narrowly overcome the in-form Robins. In truth, while no coach ever, ever wants to lose a game, Lam would probably be quietly satisfied if Wigan played near their best and didn't come away with the required result.
Of course, fans will argue that if the Warriors do play anything like what they're capable of, the result will not be in question. That's a more than fair point to make. Performances and result aren't mutually exclusive, one often follows the other.
But right now, it is improved performances, rather than improved results, that are important for Wigan on their title charge.
