I have always drawn strength from being close to home.

The line frames “home” not merely as a physical place but as a sustaining source of identity, stability, and emotional replenishment. Read in light of an elite athlete’s itinerant life, it suggests that repeated travel, public scrutiny, and competitive pressure can be counterbalanced by proximity to familiar people, routines, and values. The emphasis on “always” implies a consistent personal pattern: when facing stress or uncertainty, the speaker returns—literally or psychologically—to origins for resilience. More broadly, it affirms the idea that achievement is strengthened, not diminished, by rootedness and community ties.