Working from home can be as much a motivational hurdle as it is a logistical one.
That is, if you are not a professional athlete.
In that case, there’s really no choice when it comes to getting your work done. After all, it’s ultimately all out there for the public to see, and the work put in directly affects the result, usually in the form of whether or not one makes the matchday roster.
“It’s a very different challenge,” said Artur, who continued to speak about how social distancing measures have forced him to go back to the roots of his motivation as a player.
The 23-year-old Brazilian said he's using his career path and the lessons already learned as an added sense of motivation.
“It is difficult, but I try to remember the things that I had to go through to be here right now – all of the difficult times I had already – and also the dreams I have, the plan I have to my future, what I want to be,” Artur said.
Prior to Wednesday’s opening for individual player workouts, the training grounds turned into training garages for most.
Now that Artur and the rest of the Club are slowly heading back to the office, his 'work', if you will, remains private, whereas every day Artur continues to witness a different side of life, one that is predicated upon public service without the guaranteed public platform to show off every weekend.
Artur’s wife, Rachel, is a Registered Nurse in Columbus. Currently working day shifts, Artur has been adamant about helping her in any way he can.
“I try to do everything I can at home because I can’t leave, so I try to do the home jobs; try to keep everything clean so it helps her with cleaning the home,” he said.
“That’s the thing – sometimes she gets home tired and it’s not the right thing to talk about, and I just try to do everything I can to make sure she’s more comfortable whenever she comes home.”
Artur agreed with the sentiment that by marrying Rachel, he married her profession as well, and said how he feels the sense to care for those who are the caretakers.
“I’ve been more involved every day more, and I try to familiarize with my wife’s work. … It’s a natural thing that brings us together,” he said.
Every day they both take necessary precautions, but it’s difficult, he admitted.
“It’s not easy, not comfortable for us, but she loves to help people and I try to help her with that also.”
In tune with National Nurse’s Day, Artur expressed his thanks not only to his wife, but to all those healthcare professionals during this time.
“I want to say thank you to my wife Rachel for everything she does all day. All the work she does can be very stressful. Also, I want to thank all the nurses and doctors. This time we need them even more. Sometimes we forget about their job – the energy and work they put into helping people, into helping us, into helping everybody. I just want to say that I’m grateful for all the work they do and all the risks they take to help everybody. It’s amazing what they do.
"Sometimes people say that players and athletes are the idols and heroes, but we can see that in this moment the heroes are the nurses, the doctors, the police – all the people that are leaving home to take a risk to try to help everybody. Sometimes we don’t recognize them, so I just want to say thank you to all of them.”
