Both of Conor McDermott-Mostowy's childhood coaches have told him the same thing: he was not the athlete they expected to go to the Olympics. Two decades later, he made his debut in Milano Cortina. What happened in between is a masterclass in what it looks like to treat every loss as a question worth answering.

From the Guinness Book of World Records to two Olympic Games, here's how Winter Vinecki turns every hard thing she's done into fuel for the next one.

Laura Dwyer has survived a thousand-pound tree branch falling from eighty feet, spent seven years finishing runner-up, and carried the same sticky note into every rink she ever competed in. Then, at the Paralympic Qualifier, the biggest moment of her career, someone told her to take it down. She's glad they did.

Keith Gabel was written off as a child. Written off as an amputee. Written off as a long shot, a dark horse, a name competitors crossed off their bracket without a second thought. Keith Gabel has been hearing it his whole life. Sixty-three World Cup podiums later, he's still winning anyway. This is his story.