I have a 16-year-old son. I’m in my early 30s (had him very young) and a professional footballer. My son also dreams of becoming a successful footballer (he’s been playing since he was 6), but he’s just… not great. He’s good, but not great - and in this extremely competitive industry you need to be at least great in order to even stand a chance. So I told him, as someone who’s been doing this for a very, very long time & is active in this sphere, that he should find another, more attainable dream. He took it as me not believing in him, but I’m just objective and realistic.
Depends on when they came to terms with it. The ones who did early on (like if my son did now) just did a 180° easily and moved onto something else. Those who did later on either did a 180° as well, teaching or coaching (this is a tricky one as great coaches / managers tend to be former pro players themselves - it’s a bit harder to breakthrough here).