In 2019, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace came forward and publically opened up on his struggles with depression and mental health issues. This was something for which he was given a lot of credit since mental health amongst athletes wasn’t something that was paid much attention to at that time.

The recent Netflix docu-series, ‘Race: Bubba Wallace’, also covers this patch and period of the 23XI driver’s career.

In Episode 4, Wallace opens up about his struggles with his mental state, how it’s a downward spiral that becomes deeper and deeper, how it began to affect his racing career and his view of himself.

“My mental state has definitely taken me out of a lot of races throughout the last three or four years,” Wallace said. I became one of those haters. I became the person sitting in the stands that boos me.”

“‘You suck. You can’t do this. Your teammates are lapping you. You got the same stuff they do, and you’re pathetic.'”

“I want the best for myself, my family. And so when it doesn’t happen, you start to blame yourself for not getting the job done,” he continued. “I think that sends you down that path. And then it kind of latches onto you and you can’t really just shake it off.”

“That dark cloud comes over and you can’t think positive things.”

Bubba Wallace reveals “a ton of positive outreach” came after he opened up

In a recent interview, Bubba Wallace described how, once he came out with his struggles and depression, many people began to thank him for that.

“I think I’ve learned that it’s super important to talk about your feelings and to be vulnerable, but not everybody can do that,” he said.

“You have to be comfortable and have to be confident in everything you do and say, and so it’s a little different for everybody else. I was just sharing my experiences, and I had a ton of positive outreach after that,” he continued.

“[People] were saying, ‘Thank you. This allows me to have those tough conversations with my family,’ and I’m like…I’ve never thought about it like that.”

Also Read: Race: Bubba Wallace – NASCAR Driver Opens Up on What Ryan Blaney’s First Win of 2021 Meant to Him