Race car drivers not only face high-speed challenges but also need to manage complex team dynamics and sponsor relations and are exposed to unique fan access while competing. This study examines the unique psychological aspects of motorsports and how race car drivers currently train psychological skills to match these distinctive demands. Adopting a phenomenological approach, this study involved semistructured interviews with 11 professional race car drivers. The interviews focused on drivers’ psychological experiences during racing and their psychological preparation. Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed key psychological factors impacting performance. These included concentration, confidence, anxiety, managing emotional states, unique social aspects, and motivation. Drivers also had an interest in psychological-skills training but reported a lack of resources and consistent application. This study highlights the unique psychological challenges presented in motorsports, and the findings underscore the need for targeted psychological-skills training and resources for race car drivers.
This study explored goal-directed self-talk and its optimization through educational self-talk interventions, focusing on a novel sports-oriented board-game intervention. Examining a practitioner’s experiences and diverse participant profiles, including an elite tennis player, a recreational athlete, a football referee, and a tennis coach, the research employed four in-depth case studies. A unique aspect of this study involved intentional control transfer from practitioner to client, documented through a practitioner diary and postintervention interviews. Participants generally expressed appreciation for the intervention; however, the coach’s case necessitated bespoke adjustments, underscoring the importance of contextual sensitivity in applied practice. The educational self-talk intervention reportedly facilitated the analytical deconstruction of challenges, enhancing self-regulation through goal-directed self-talk. The study underscored the pedagogical merit of the board game and observed a substantive transfer of control from practitioner to participant over the intervention’s longitudinal trajectory. Detailed recommendations have been crafted for practitioners to implement the educational self-talk intervention effectively in their practice.