The question
What do you fear most?Originally asked
Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire
The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Years ago, before I had my current manager, I was taken advantage of by people I’d trusted with my finances. That’s made me especially sensitive to the prospect of financial ruin. I’m constantly advising young athletes to be vigilant when it comes to whom you trust with your finances.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2020 source ↗
My children dying before me.
The concept of eternity.
Failure, being caught out, making an idiot of myself.
I’ve got vertigo, so anything to do with heights.
Barack Obama has shown us how to be a politician guided by intelligence, integrity, and compassion.
Dishonesty. It destroys relationships. It’s something celebrities especially have to guard against because people are prone to tell you what they think you want to hear rather than the truth.
Loyalty. Not fawning, but a loyalty based on our shared love and history that fosters compassion and forgiveness.
Laziness. After 30 years of being a disciplined athlete with an intensely tight schedule, I still can’t forgive myself for letting things slide.
My college years, when everything was possible and I felt physically invulnerable.
I had self doubts when I was a freshman in high school. I was 14 years old and not very mature, and there were a few incidents in my freshman year. I learned in a very competitive environment. The high school environment that I played in was very intense, and I learned how to be stoic and go out and compete.
Rafael Nadal, Derek Jeter, Paul Merson, Scottie Pippen, Ally McCoist, Serena Williams
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