If you try and lose then it isn't your fault. But if you don't try and we lose, then it's all your fault.

The line contrasts the moral weight of failure with the moral weight of inaction. It argues that sincere effort, even when it ends in defeat, is excusable because the outcome was not fully within one’s control; what can be judged is the willingness to act. By contrast, refusing to try becomes culpable when the group fails, because the loss is partly attributable to a preventable absence of effort. The quote functions as a blunt ethic of responsibility: you are not always accountable for results, but you are accountable for participation, courage, and the decision to contribute when your contribution might matter.