Sonya Curry, the mother of NBA superstars Stephen and Seth Curry, has always been a proud, supportive figure in the stands, but she admits the experience is far from easy. After all, being a mother of two NBA stars is no walk in the park. Cheering on her sons as they compete at the highest level of basketball brings intense pressure and fear, emotions she candidly discussed in a recent podcast interview.

A former college volleyball player and now an author, Sonya Curry knows the pressures of competition firsthand. During a recent episode of the Got It From My Momma podcast, she opened up about the overwhelming emotions she experiences while cheering on her sons. When asked about watching them from the stands, Sonya candidly shared her mix of pride and anxiety.

“At first it’s fun being just a spectator and a fan of the game. And so you go into it like all excited about that. And then once the whistle kinda blows, to just, for the jump ball and to get started, you’re like- breathe, just breathe.”

Well, you can call this nervousness or anxiety from witnessing the fierce games unfold. “And so a lot of the animations and actions that people see me doing in the stands is just the release of nervousness and anxiety,” Sonya Curry added.

Stephen Curry’s mom admitted her constant concern as a parent: ““It’s like I was nervous every day as a parent because just like most parents you don’t just want to mess up. You don’t want to mess your children up. And if we didn’t fear them, the world would do it. So I was just there with a lot of fear.”  This maternal concern has been a major part of Sonya Curry’s life. Especially when Steph was taken up by the Warriors, his parents were concerned about the locker room situation there.

Though Steph has become the face of the Warriors since his 2009 debut, Sonya admits she still feels nervous watching him play. Despite his “Baby-Faced Assassin” moniker, she sees him as her child, always concerned for his well-being on and off the court.

Sonya Curry and Dell Curry were concerned about the Warriors locker room at the time of Stephen Curry’s debut

When Stephen Curry was drafted seventh overall in 2009, his parents had mixed emotions. While excited about his NBA career, Dell Curry, a former Charlotte Hornets player, and Sonya were concerned about the Warriors’ locker room environment, citing “some questionable characters” as potential influences.

Surprisingly, both Sonya and Dell didn’t want their son to join the Bay Area team. Mamma Curry went to the extent of saying: “I didn’t even know where that was. When they announced Golden State, I was like, ‘Where’s the Golden State?'” Well, their concerns weren’t completely off the point as the Dubs had a controversial figure, Monta Ellis. In 2008, he was suspended without pay for 30 games. Ellis signed a 6-year, $66 million contract in July. In late August, he sprained his ankle in a low-speed moped crash.

He lied to Warriors management, saying the injury occurred while playing pickup basketball. When the truth came out, then-GSW president Robert Rowell suspended Ellis. Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson, the most experienced Dubs player in 2009, faced scrutiny for his off-court behavior. Naturally, Sonya Curry and her husband worried about their 21-year-old son.

Despite the initial concerns, Steph became the face of the Golden State Warriors, leading them to their first championship in 40 years. While Sonya’s pride is immense, the nerves will likely remain as long as her sons continue to play at the highest level.