Sam “Moose” Morse on Skiing Fast, Living Grounded, and Leading with Joy
Growing up at Sugarloaf in Maine, Sam Morse was on skis by age two but his Olympic dream took shape during the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. For Sam, Olympic idols weren’t distant figures on television; they were woven into his own world.
“There’s a photo on our mantle that’s been there my entire childhood of my brother wearing Bodie Miller’s silver medal… that definitely framed the storyline for our family of what was possible and what was out there. It’s easy to pinpoint exactly when my own Olympic dream began.”
Bodie Miller, who attended the same ski academy as Sam, was an early hero. But just as formative was Maine legend Seth Wescott, the two-time Olympic snowboard cross champion whose family was deeply connected to Sam’s own.
“Through Seth and his mom, the Olympics had a face,” Sam remarks. “It wasn’t abstract. It was human.”
That sense of proximity to greatness has shaped Sam’s career and now shows up in how he mentors young athletes through his own FAST Camp.
Fear: From Nausea to Fuel
When Sam first made the U.S. Ski Team at 18 and stepped onto the World Cup circuit in his early twenties, fear showed up physically.
“I went through an entire bottle of Tums my first season,” he laughs. “I was quite frankly sick to my stomach in the start gate.”
With repetition and time, that fear has evolved.
Now, arriving at courses that he knows like the back of his hand, fear no longer stops him in his tracks. “Fear, anticipation, excitement…it’s the same response in the body,” Sam explains. “Nowadays, I’ve learned to reframe fear as excitement in a way that helps fuel my races.”
The Long Game: Mastery over Medals
Sam is refreshingly honest about what it means to be a “journeyman” in elite sport.
“There are the Mikaela’s and Lindsay’s of the world. The superstars. Then there’s the rest of us.”
A proven World Cup point scorer and World Championships competitor, Sam has earned his place among the top alpine racers in the world. But his path has been gradual, patient, and non-linear. What sustains him is a mindset inspired by Bodie Miller: performance is about mastery, not just medals.
“You can win and ski poorly. You can finish 10th and ski brilliantly. If you execute your plan and give it your all, that’s success.”
This reframing, coupled with a deep commitment to finding balance, has been central to Sam’s longevity in a demanding sport.
Balance as a Competitive Advantage
Sam’s approach to longevity is less about recovery “hacks” and more about building in intentional separation. Each spring he returns to Dartmouth to keep chipping away at his engineering degree. “That’s a really nice time of year… I don’t talk ski racing. I’m just a normal student.” In the summer, he unplugs entirely, disappearing on weeks-long wilderness expeditions where performance metrics give way to presence, endurance, and quiet.
That same grounding shows up in his FAST Camp, the faith-centered ski camp he runs for young athletes. More than teaching technique, Sam uses the week to help kids build an identity that isn’t entirely tied to performance, something he believes is essential for both wellbeing and excellence. For Morse, faith is the anchor that melts pressure away: “I love skiing, but my identity is grounded in something greater.”
As Sam looks toward the Games, his father’s words are front of mind: the outcome may come — or it may not — but his joy for skiing will remain. In a career defined by speed, risk, and pressure, Sam Morse shows that the deepest strength lies in balance and finding joy in the little moments.
Stories like Sam’s are exactly what Back The Team is built to share. We’re going behind-the-scenes of the Winter Games through real conversations about mindset, pressure, and performance from the world’s best athletes. Live from Milan as the action unfolds. Follow along!
