Parramatta second-rower Shaun Lane interviewed a range of people for his very personal documentary on mental health to be released on Thursday, from professional darts players to sports psychologists used at some of Europe’s leading football clubs.

It was Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan, however, who came up with the succinct creed for every athlete to live by.

“Never be too up, never get too down,” Ryan, who plays for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie league in the Netherlands, tells Lane as the pair sit in an Amsterdam cafe.

You suspect that would be rather difficult for a professional athlete, whose singular job title is to get as high as possible, winning everything that’s on offer for as long as they can before their bodies fail them and they retire.

Yet sports psychologists, who are entrenched in every club, are starting to drill home a new mantra to players: don’t focus on the outcome.

In other words, forget about the result. Somewhere in the world, Cameron Smith and Andrew Johns just choked on their cornflakes.

Socceroos Mat Ryan being interviewed by Shaun Lane.Credit: Parramatta Eels

But Lane is a believer, which is something you wouldn’t expect from a Parramatta player, many of whom carry the weight of grand final heartache every time they take the field. Retired back-rower Nathan Hindmarsh maintains “a piece of me is missing” after never winning a grand final.

Lane once thought along these lines. Most players do. But his focus has shifted and he is better for it.

“You end up thinking, ‘OK, winning is the most important thing,’” Lane explained in an interview with this masthead. “Then it just becomes devastating to your........

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