In Deep with Nathan Adrian
In Deep with Olivia Smoliga — Season 2, Episode 2: Nathan Adrian
He's a five-time Olympic gold medalist, a swim school owner, and a dad of three. And he still shows up at 6am — not because he has to, but because he's never once walked away from the water without feeling better for it.
In this episode of In Deep, Olivia sits down with Nathan Adrian — Team USA icon and one of the most grounded competitors the sport has ever produced — for a conversation that covers the full arc of a life built on showing up. Nathan is as thoughtful off the blocks as he was lethal on them, and this episode proves it.
They go deep on ADHD and the neuroscience of flow state, and how swimming uniquely engaged Nathan's brain in a way that made the grind feel less like discipline and more like home. Nathan talks candidly about how he craved a sense of control as a competitor — how setting goals from a clear head, investing in the process, and leaving no rocks unturned gave him the confidence to race the way he did. And he reflects honestly on what he'd do differently, and why he gives himself forgiveness for the things he didn't know then.
The conversation moves through the mindfulness practices Nathan stumbled into — from a grounding technique he developed after losing focus at the 2015 World Championships in Russia, to post-practice yoga, to the simple ritual of the after-practice shower as a reset from competitor to teammate. Nathan is refreshingly real about what he did and didn't have figured out, and how self-awareness — not perfection — is what actually leads to high performance.
There's also a beautiful thread running through the whole episode about joy. About the magic of showing up every day not because you have to, but because something keeps pulling you back. Nathan calls it the thing that separates the athletes who last from the ones who burn out — and it has nothing to do with willpower.
For any swimmer, coach, or parent wondering what actually builds a champion — this episode is the answer.
New episodes of In Deep with Olivia Smoliga drop bi-weekly on Spotify.
Listen to the episode below!
