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Coaches need inspiration, too.
Larry Krystkowiak got his this week from yoga class, where between Downward Dog and Warrior Three poses on Monday, his instructor said something that struck him as he prepares his team to bounce back from an 0-2 road trip through Oregon.
"She had an interesting comment: Compassion is not necessarily to be confused with empathy, where you feel sorry for somebody," Krystkowiak said, recounting the lesson for the media on Tuesday morning. "Compassion was more of the concept of you have to struggle together."
The Runnin' Utes (17-7, 6-5) had the struggling part down last week, taking a head-slapping loss to Oregon State before dropping a 10-point decision to Oregon. The "together" part is trickier, but Utah will aim to find cohesion to bounce back at home, where it plays five of its final seven regular-season games.
For the last few seasons, the Utes have been solid at the Huntsman Center, including an 11-1 record and over 87 points per game this year. Still, the team isn't counting on "the hay in the barn" ahead of a date with Washington (15-8, 7-4), which forced overtime in Seattle.
The Utes' five-game winning streak skidded last week as Utah's backcourt struggled, Krystkowiak acknowledged. Senior Brandon Taylor made some cringe-worthy mistakes, including the one that lost the game against OSU. Junior Lorenzo Bonam's shooting touch was off, and he had some defensive errors that resulted in being subbed out for most of the second half against the Ducks.
While Krystkowiak said he has "all the faith in the world" that his starting guards can bounce back, he said the team is trying to own its mistakes this week — more in the mental side of the game than in the physical.
"Short of being able to jump into their brains and their bodies and turn 'em into a robot and try to make those plays for them, again let's try to take some ownership," he said. "Put on our big-boy pants, and not be as willing to give into some mistakes. Be a little tougher minded and do what's being asked of you."
But short of placing all the blame on his backcourt, Krystkowiak said the bad weekend is a team struggle. In the theme of "compassion," he wants them to face it together.
It's not as if the team is starting from scratch: The Utes still have one of the best big men in Jakob Poeltl, who is among the Pac-12's top five in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg). Sophomore Kyle Kuzma is on the rise, with double-digit scoring in his past five games. The team still is one of the best shooting teams in the nation (No. 17, 48.7 percent), and leads the conference in assists (365).
Utah hopes to get some rest from travel after spending 18 of the first 38 nights of 2016 in hotels. Krystkowiak said he expects more efficiency from himself and his group, in close proximity to the practice facility, offices, classrooms and the comforts of home.
In Monday's practice, Krystkowiak said he saw a renewed focus that showed to him the Utes are ready to turn it around, with just a month to go until the conference tournament.
"We can get the ship righted," he said. "There's no doubt in my mind we've got the ability and the talent on this team to get this done. But it needs to be done collectively."
And unlike yoga class, that may not be a stretch.
Twitter: @kylegoon