Sitting in the meticulously-clean lobby of the Shorebreak Hotel, just across the street from the 2017 U.S. Open in Huntington Beach, Calif. where Carissa Moore had just been unceremoniously ousted in the fourth round, I caught the three-time World Champ in a vulnerable state. Agreeing to sit down for a far-ranging interview, we covered everything from what she’d be doing if she wasn’t surfing, to parental involvement in the sport (more on both later) and of course, her year on the world tour thus far, one that has her openly questioning everything about herself–she has yet to win an event and is ranked 9th.
Pro sports will do that to an athlete. Especially one as real as Carissa. I’ve done several pieces with her over the years and she’s always come across the same: honest, thoughtful and constantly searching for more. But now in her eighth year on tour, at the ripe old age of 24, she finds herself trying to figure out exactly what more actually means. Competitive struggle can have that effect on you. Even if you’re one of the most explosive surfers on tour.
But one good result can change everything. And she’s won all four of the remaining events left in the 2017 season before. She can certainly turn things around. If that’s what she really wants.
