The weekend of Trae Young’s high school graduation, his mother dropped him off at the airport, and so began the cycle of 10 months that would change everything.
Airports so often signify beginnings and endings like that, home to two of life’s greatest feelings. There’s promise and opportunity when you take off, then the familiar comfort of home when you land. Already, so much of Young’s life has been spent navigating those two sensations and the confusing air in between.
Young was flying out that weekend to work with individual coaches and train for his college basketball career. Soon after, he would become a student at the University at Oklahoma.
In that moment at the airport, Candice Young bargained for a little more time with her son, proud to see him start a new journey but fearful to let go of the baby boy she and Rayford had as college-aged kids in Lubbock, Texas. Rayford played basketball at Texas Tech and Candice worked at Chili’s. They worried about paying for diapers.
Eighteen years later, Trae Young was already a local celebrity with so much more ahead of him. He turned to his mother with a reminder.
You can go. I’m good.
