This sort of thing can happen a lot more easily than people think. I've seen guys who were Special Forces badasses in their twenties and then just let themselves deteriorate. I think the major contributing factors are:
1. Getting married to Western women who soak up too much of their time with bullshit and nagging. This detracts from their training, and saps their self-confidence.
2. Many men--here at the forum and elsewhere--make the mistake of equating muscularity with mental toughness. There is some correlation, but you need to remember that just because someone has big biceps doesn't mean that (1) he is in shape, or (2) he has the willpower necessary to go the distance in life. I see a lot of this in the manosphere. Too much emphasis on lifting weights and taking supplements, and not enough on all-around fitness.
3. Psychologically, many of these high-performance athletes end up hating their sport and subconsciously rebel against it once they have achieved what they want to achieve. They feel like they want to take a new direction in life. Remember that many of these guys (and women) spend years--many, many years--defining their identity based on their sport. At some point, they just snap. They are done.
4. Many of these guys have not mentally prepared themselves for what the aging process entails. They are not equipped to handle the fact that their bodies change, and some of them just crash and burn.
So if we take all these factors into account, we can see how it can happen.
1. Getting married to Western women who soak up too much of their time with bullshit and nagging. This detracts from their training, and saps their self-confidence.
2. Many men--here at the forum and elsewhere--make the mistake of equating muscularity with mental toughness. There is some correlation, but you need to remember that just because someone has big biceps doesn't mean that (1) he is in shape, or (2) he has the willpower necessary to go the distance in life. I see a lot of this in the manosphere. Too much emphasis on lifting weights and taking supplements, and not enough on all-around fitness.
3. Psychologically, many of these high-performance athletes end up hating their sport and subconsciously rebel against it once they have achieved what they want to achieve. They feel like they want to take a new direction in life. Remember that many of these guys (and women) spend years--many, many years--defining their identity based on their sport. At some point, they just snap. They are done.
4. Many of these guys have not mentally prepared themselves for what the aging process entails. They are not equipped to handle the fact that their bodies change, and some of them just crash and burn.
So if we take all these factors into account, we can see how it can happen.