Sundays with Wes McElroy: Biles earned a victory without winning gold

We’ve sat in stadiums, on couches, and in man-caves wondering how they did what we can’t begin to comprehend.

Ninety-nine percent of us also don’t know what it’s like to go to work with thousands judging us in-person while millions more do so at home.

If we have a bad day at work or make a mistake at the office, it may be scrutinized by our bosses, not by millions on television shows, radio talk show hosts and the internet.

Most of us have the freedom to go home and open Facebook to the stories of the day or celebrity gossip, not thousands of messages shredding your performance or wishing you and your family harm.

Just as we don’t know how Odell Beckham Jr makes that one-handed catch or how LeBron James drives the lane on five guys, 99.9% have never experienced the “twisties” in gymnastics. Before these Olympics, 99.99999% of us had never heard of the “twisties” until they were brought up when Simone Biles withdrew from team competition in the Tokyo Games.

Yet there were voices, a great many who criticized Biles, 24, for being mentally weak for not “toughing it out” and abandoning her team.

Those critics overlook that she overcame childhood hunger and sexual abuse to become of the one of most decorated Olympians ever.

Many had opinions, yet not a clue of what Biles was going through.

However, some knew what Biles was going through last week. Perhaps not the “twisties,” but something occurring mentally beyond a person’s control that affected physical abilities.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that mental illness affects tens of millions of Americans each year. Estimates suggest that only half of the people with mental illnesses receive treatment.

“So much of the approach around the country or the world or families is just ‘suck it up’ or ‘just get over it’. That makes zero sense, nor is it possible just to ‘suck it up’ and ‘get over it.’, Virginia football coach Bronco Mendenhall told me in October. “It takes a lot of work, a lifetime of work, and focus and education and diligence.”

There are multiple reasons millions with mental health issues don’t seek help. Some are impeded by lack of money or resources. Some fear opening up or embracing frailty, and some are terrified about what others may think or not understand.

I could never understand why my college roommate would sometimes just want to sit in a dark dorm room alone instead of going out to the bar. As I knew little about depression and his father’s bipolar disorder, my proposed solution was nonsense like “Dude, let’s just go get you drunk and you’ll feel better.”

I couldn’t comprehend the devastation of my dear friend losing his child two weeks after her birth and how the effects caused him to collapse from severe panic attacks.

I couldn’t process a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that noted a drastic rise in recent years of suicide among not just adults, but the biggest spike occurring between the ages of 10 to 24.

Some of us just don’t know.

Mental health disorders do not discriminate by age, gender, race, religion or profession, whether you are an accomplished athlete or brilliant accountant.

It’s far too easy to assume someone with brains, money and talent has the perfect life, when looks can be deceiving. Athletes aren’t superhuman though they may appear to possess superhuman talent.

Not everyone knows the darkness of depression or the fear of a panic attack. Many of us can’t relate to Biles walking away from a potential Olympic medal.

If that’s you, consider yourself blessed.

After you do, try to find the compassion for the many who suffer to find the right words or proper help, fearing a stigma.

Upon returning for the beam and winning a bronze medal, Biles told “The Today Show,” “[The bronze] means more than all the golds because I’ve been through so much the last five years and the last week while I’ve even been here; it was just... it was very emotional.”

These Olympics were not what anyone, including Biles, expected, but perhaps her greatest accomplishment is the courage she displayed to be open and vulnerable, helping others to do the same.