Why High Performers Keep Getting Injured

Why High Performers Keep Getting Injured – And How to Break the Cycle

The winter sports season has barely started, and already we’re seeing a surge in injuries—NRL, AFL, and likely in rugby too. While injuries are often dismissed as bad luck or overuse, there’s a deeper pattern at play, one I’ve been studying and working with for years.

Over time, I’ve identified nine distinct sports injury personas—patterns of behaviour and subconscious beliefs that contribute to repeated injuries. One of the most common is the High-Expectation Giver. This is the person who takes on responsibility not just for their own performance but for their entire team, workplace, or family. They push themselves relentlessly, feeling the weight of expectations from every angle.

They are the ones always supporting others, ensuring the team runs smoothly, carrying the load in their jobs, relationships, and sport. But with that pressure comes a cost. Their body starts to break down, often in very telling ways—foot and ankle injuries, Achilles tears, back problems, shoulder issues.

Why? Because these parts of the body symbolise stability, support, and carrying a heavy load.

When the subconscious mind is overwhelmed by stress and responsibility, the body responds. Injuries often come at the exact moment when that internal voice is screaming, “I can’t do this anymore.” It’s not that people deliberately get injured—it’s that their body is doing what their mind won’t allow: forcing a break, releasing the pressure.

We’ve seen it at every level of sport. Remember Michael Clarke’s chronic back issues when he was left carrying the Australian cricket team through a transition period? It’s no coincidence. The same thing happens at local clubs, in business, and even in parenting.

More recently, Mitch Moses has experienced multiple injury setbacks, preventing him from playing for the Eels—where the weight of expectation on him is enormous. Interestingly, he was available (and thrived) for nearly the entire representative season, where the responsibility was more evenly shared. Without the subconscious burden of “it’s all on me,” his body responded differently.

The injury becomes the escape—removing the weight of external and self-imposed expectations. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right approach, these subconscious patterns can be rewired. Athletes, coaches, and high performers can continue to succeed without carrying the burden that leads to physical breakdowns.

If this sounds like you or someone you know—someone who keeps getting the same injuries, who feels the weight of responsibility, who can’t seem to break the cycle—let’s talk. Shifting these beliefs can change not just their performance but their entire trajectory, in sport and in life.