326 - Olympian Dotsie Bausch and Jason Wrobel: A Crash Shattered My Body & Confidence - Here’s What Saved Me

2025-05-21

“Recovery—it’s rarely, rarely linear, and never, ever convenient. If you are someone who's used to being in command of their body, it can feel almost like the universe just slammed on the brakes without any warning. That is the loss of autonomy, right? That's one of the most common—and very, very disorienting—aspects of any physical injury. None of us want to hear that setbacks are not failures—they're part of the process. The frustration is normal. Let it come out. Let it work itself through.” -Dotsie Bausch “The mental side—the frustration, the inability to use my body the way I'm used to—with the fluidity, the power, the agency, the strength... yeah, it's tough. When we...

“The mental side—the frustration, the inability to use my body the way I'm used to—with the fluidity, the power, the agency, the strength... yeah, it's tough. When we're in pain, we’ve got to remember everything we've survived. It's so easy to beat ourselves up. It's so easy to think, ‘My God, how am I going to get through this? How am I going to heal? How am I going to conquer this mountain?’” -Jason Wrobel

In this deeply personal episode, Dotsie and Jason dive into the raw reality of recovery—what it demands, how it feels, and the challenges it brings. Dotsie shares what she’s learning while healing from a broken ankle, drawing on past sports injuries as well, and Jason opens up about the profound lessons he took from his own recovery after a serious motorcycle accident. Together, they explore the emotional toll of losing physical autonomy, how to stay mentally grounded, and why recovery can ultimately become an unexpected invitation to rebuild not just your body, but your perspective and sense of self.

What we discuss in this episode: