We’ve seen a defeated Stephen Curry multiple times throughout his career. But the visage of the Dubs talisman on Tuesday was something never seen before. A timeout was called early in the second quarter when the scoreboard read 42-29. The Warriors were unable to find their ground in Miami and a seemingly frustrated Stephen Curry smacked the courtside chair. Clearly, the Dubs leader was pissed. And why won’t he be? It’s almost halfway through the season, yet the Warriors are still plagued by inconsistency. But is there a cure? Curry always has one, except this time.

On the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast, Curry’s mental state became a matter of autopsy. “There’s a lot wrong, but what are we going to do about it?” Steph said after the 114-98 loss to the Heat. Dalton Johnson highlighted the four-time champion’s choice of words in the interviews, seeing them as a clear reflection of his growing disappointment. “He used the words like pissed off. He used the words like back-to-back no shows. This is, to me, maybe the most deflated and dejected I’ve ever seen Steph Curry,” the Warriors reporter remarked.

This was not just after the 114-98 loss to the Heat, but something similar happened in the previous defeat against the Kings as well. Curry broke from his usual postgame routine then. “I even go back to the loss against the Kings. We’re in the locker room… and he walks down. Usually, you know Steph,” Johnson told Monte Poole, who was also present there. “Usually, it takes a long time. He has a workout. He showers. He’s chatty in the locker room a little bit. Then he walks back up those steps to top up with us in the interview room.” However, this time, things were different.

“He walked down full uniform, looked at us, big sigh, and just walked right back up. He’s like, alright. Let me… just talk. I’ll get this over with,” the reporter described the scenario. “End of the game tonight, towel over his head, just kinda looking in the wandering around, looking at the scorer’s table.”

Johnson felt that Curry had multiple questions running through his mind, asking, “What’s going on? What are we doing? What needs to happen next?” Not only that, he further emphasized, “This is a very, very visibly deflated Steph Curry.” That right there is a serious concern for the Warriors. If the leader himself has lost hope, how can the fanbase still keep the faith?

From being at the top of the standings earlier in the season, the Warriors have now fallen to ninth place in the Western Conference, holding a .500 record of 18-18. That’s definitely not the championship-caliber team the Warriors community is used to.

In both games, Stephen Curry led the team with game-high points, 26 against the Heat and 31 against the Kings. However, despite his efforts, watching his team crumble repeatedly, the 36-year-old couldn’t hold back his emotions. After all, there’s a lot going on inside Curry’s mind.

Stephen Curry shares his performance anxiety

Considering Stephen Curry’s incredible success over the past 16 years, it’s hard to imagine that he could ever struggle with performance issues. However, the 6-foot-2 guard has shown his human side by confessing that he, too, experiences performance anxiety.

“For sure I have anxiety,” Curry recently admitted to the media. “A lot of it is baked into the expectations I’ve set and the level I want to play at. It’s your own expectations and awareness of what a good game is. It’s a healthy insecurity of having to prove yourself every single night, which is cool. It keeps you going.”

This certainly helps explain his reactions. With Curry soon turning 37, time is running out, and he has very little left in the tank. At the moment, he’s eyeing a fifth championship title, but with the way the team is currently performing, it seems like an impossible task. How the Warriors bounce back on track, if they do, will be an interesting thing to watch this season.