Well, you know, what's better? To play a character who stays stuck in the same baggage year after year, or to play a character who gets beyond that and goes to a new level?
My dad had been shortstop when he was in college, and you know, when you're a kid, you want to be just like your dad.
It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win.