To have psychological resilience is to possess the ability to mentally cope with or adapt to uncertainty, challenges and adversity. Manchester United's Harry Maguire has certainly been forced to develop that resilience over the last 18 months.
Maguire hoped the most difficult chapter of his career had been written last season, yet the pages have continued to turn with a horror script into the new Premier League campaign. Maguire started against Brighton and Brentford and United suffered humiliating defeats in both of those matches. Maguire has not started in the Premier League since and United have taken maximum points.
Erik ten Hag has preferred to start Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, which has meant Maguire has been limited to just 280 minutes. It was thought a spell on the bench, with some time away from the intense scrutiny, would benefit the player, but that was immediately made redundant when Gareth Southgate included Maguire in his England squad this month. That was a selection obviously based on historic performances, not current form, and that exposed the player to scrutiny on a national scale again.
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Southgate vowed to select players on form rather than reputation at the beginning of his England premiership and he went against that promise when naming Maguire in his squad. Maguire was not the only player who was picked on reputation rather than form, Luke Shaw and Jordan Henderson come to mind, but his club performances have drawn the most attention and scrutiny.
That is a consequence of playing for and captaining Manchester United - it comes with the territory. United endured their worst season for decades last term and Maguire was well below the standard needed to represent the club, nevermind wear the armband.
Maguire was awful and he was rightly criticised for his performances, but he was also ridiculed and mocked on a scale which would affect any professional. It is right for players to be criticised. It is certainly not right for them to deal with relentless vitriol.
After Ten Hag dropped Maguire to the bench, which was undoubtedly overdue and the correct decision, the pressure for him to repay Southgate's faith in him for England was immense. The country was watching and some would have wanted him to disappoint.
Maguire started against Italy, England were defeated 1-0 and the result was somehow Maguire's fault. The centre-back delivered a strong individual display, but the agenda against the player meant that the post-match narrative was entirely different.
That was not helped by the player himself, who used his post-match interview to remind the public that he made the team of the tournament at Euro 2020, despite reporting for England duty last summer while nursing an injury. Maguire has form for not choosing his moments well, just like when he held his hands to his ears after scoring for England in November in a response to his critics.
Maguire was sent off as United lost 4-1 against Watford after that international break. His pre-match interview before United played Liverpool in April was also a classic example of a player failing to read the room, so perhaps he needs to be better advised.
He needs to do his talking on the pitch and that is something that would have been talked about at St. George's Park ahead of England welcoming Germany to Wembley on Monday night, as Southgate placed his trust in Maguire again. The 29-year-old did not put a foot wrong in that game, until a lapse of concentration and a mistake in the second half, which gifted Germany a penalty.
It has not rained on Maguire over the last 18 months - it has brutally poured. His performance against Germany, which had been ruined by that mistake, was fairly criticised, but the abuse he received on social media from England supporters was deplorable.
There are people on social media who are taking pleasure from Maguire's form and that's where we seem to be in 2022. United fans have their own gripes with Maguire, which are more than justified, but perhaps now is the time to really get behind him.
United fans have never identified with England and the abuse he's received from rival supporters across the country might be enough for Reds to sympathise with his struggles. Maguire was simply not good enough last season, he was poor against Brighton and Brentford, but that does mean he deserves to be hounded with personal attacks and mocked on social media.
Martinez and Varane have been outstanding, but it's within United's interest for Maguire to get back to his best, to play with confidence and a smile again. He is fundamentally not a bad player, which some may have you believe online.
You do not captain United and England without ability. Pundits have defended Maguire over the last few weeks, which might have been counter-productive, instead acting as a catalyst for annoyance, but it was worth listening to what Gary Neville had to say this week. Neville endured what Maguire is going through in his career and he eventually saw light at the end of the tunnel.
"I’ve been there myself. I gave away two really bad goals against Vasco de Gama in a World Club Championships in early 2000s, then six months later went onto have a horrible tournament for England in Belgium and Holland," Neville told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"My pain lasted for about eight months in football terms. I was poor, lost my confidence, didn’t want the ball and didn’t show for things. When I lost my confidence, I went and saw a psychologist to help me through those moments. I would suggest he does what I did. I did go and see my doctor at Manchester United. I did go and get a psychologist You do need external help at times."
Maguire might need external help, he might not, although he certainly will need the help of his own supporters to make it through this difficult period. That does not mean he should be exempt from fair criticism, but it does mean helping put an end to the agenda.
Maguire does care about Manchester United and he now needs his own supporters to help him evade the dark clouds.
However, he needs to help himself first and foremost - that will ultimately decide the duration of this storm.
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