Time & Perspective Quote by Jonathan Quick

Perfection is a trap athletes set for themselves because it sounds noble while quietly guaranteeing misery. Jonathan Quick’s line sidesteps that trap with a goalie’s pragmatism: you can’t control every bounce, every screen, every referee’s sightline, but you can control your readiness and your compete level. The phrasing “not about being perfect” concedes the chaos of sport without romanticizing it. It’s a refusal to let the scoreboard rewrite your self-concept.

The intent is motivational, but the subtext is defensive in the best way: a veteran building a psychological shield against the most corrosive narrative in hockey, where one soft goal becomes a referendum on your character. “Giving your best effort” is less inspirational poster and more professional standard. It reframes evaluation from outcome to process, a move that protects confidence while still demanding accountability. Quick isn’t saying mistakes don’t matter; he’s saying mistakes are inevitable, and the only sustainable response is to keep showing up prepared.

Context matters: Quick came up in a position defined by isolation. Goalies don’t get to disappear on a bad shift; they wear every error. In that world, “every time you step out there” reads like a vow of consistency - not heroics, not perfection, but repeatable intensity. It’s also a subtle leadership message in a team sport: stop chasing flawless highlights, start stacking honest efforts. The culture of winning, he implies, is built less on immaculate nights than on reliable ones.