I wanted to perform well for my mom and dad, because in high school, I didn’t have a job. My brothers, they worked at Pizza Hut or places like that, but sports, that was my way of giving back.

Seau frames athletic excellence as a form of familial reciprocity rather than personal glory. Because he did not contribute financially through a teenage job, he treated sports as his “work”—a way to honor his parents’ sacrifices and repay them through effort, discipline, and achievement. The quote also highlights a common dynamic in working- and middle-class households: siblings contribute in different ways, and success can be measured not only in wages but in pride, opportunity, and representation. In Seau’s case, the motivation is rooted in gratitude and responsibility, suggesting that elite performance can be driven by loyalty to family and community as much as by ambition.