“It’s Okay. Just Take It Day by Day.” Psychological Recovery Support and Athlete Rehabilitation

The purpose of this pilot mixed-methods study was to examine the relationship between perceived psychological recovery support and athlete motivation, external trust, and internal trust during injury rehabilitation in a Division I football program. Guided by the Injury Response Model, seven athletes completed the researcher-developed Psychological Recovery Exposure Survey (PRES), an adapted Sports Injury Rehabilitation Beliefs Survey (SIRBS), an adapted Trust in Physician Scale (TPS), and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed moderate to high perceived support, consistently high motivation, and strong external trust in rehabilitation staff. Qualitative analysis indicated that greater perceived support was associated with clearer cognitive appraisal, more adaptive coping, and stronger social support. Internal trust emerged as less defined than external trust; with all trust developing as a continuous process across recovery. Overall, this study offers preliminary evidence that individualized psychological support may enhance athlete motivation and trust, contributing to a growing foundation for psychological integration in sport rehabilitation practice.