Written Option 2: Unfortunately, losing is something you get used to. Alexa's Scarecrows have been knocked out of the playoffs twice in the first round, and once in the second. It's easy to know how to lose when you've got practice, and so she has a routine. Never assume any game is won until it's over. Never assume a series is won, even when it's over. And when you really are knocked out, make sure to go work as soon as you can. Of course, Alexa has actually never had a true 'holiday' from hockey; in the off season, even in years she's eliminated in the first round, she's always called up to one of the USA WJC teams, after all. This means there's never time to dwell on it too deeply, at least not while the wounds are fresh, and that inertia simply carries her forward. Though, sometimes, deep in the night... it gets to her.