Understanding coach burnout in high-performance sport: the sequential effects of knowledge, psychological safety, and coach–athlete relationships

Background Coach burnout is a persistent concern in high-performance sport, yet limited research has examined how upstream cognitive resources contribute to coaches’ wellbeing through psychological and relational processes. Drawing on coaching effectiveness and relational models, this study examined how coach knowledge relates to coach burnout via psychological safety and coach–athlete relationship quality. Methods A sample of elite football coaches completed validated measures of coach knowledge (CKQ), sport psychological safety (SPSI), coach–athlete relationship quality (CART-Q), and coach burnout (CBQ). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test a sequential mediation model. Results Coach knowledge was positively associated with psychological safety and, both directly and indirectly, with coach–athlete relationship quality. Psychological safety did not independently mediate the association between coach knowledge and burnout. However, a significant sequential indirect effect emerged, indicating that coach knowledge was associated with lower burnout through psychological safety and, subsequently, higher-quality coach–athlete relationships. Coach–athlete relationship quality was directly and negatively associated with burnout. Conclusion The findings indicate that coach knowledge becomes consequential for wellbeing primarily through relational pathways, with psychological safety shaping the conditions under which knowledge is enacted within coach–athlete relationships. These results underscore the importance of fostering psychologically safe environments and sustaining high-quality relationships, alongside knowledge development, in efforts to reduce coach burnout in high-performance sport.