In the past, he held a sense of responsibility for his own position but his attitude to look around him became even stronger. Uno is also aware of this change. "Up until now it was only about me and challenging various things."
He was able to begin to think "I want to leave results", as the desire to respond to the feelings of people around him who support him, as well as the fans who cheer him on, became stronger. He stood alone, then escaped from a slump. "The only thing that hasn't changed is ice."
In the season following the Olympics, winning Worlds was his biggest goal. "I want to challenge while aiming for results." However it didn't go as planned. He got 4th place and couldn't go on the podium. But it was not the end. With Stephane Lambiel as his coach, he won Japanese Nationals 4 times in a row. More than anything, he had an overflowing smile.
During Worlds in 2020-2021 season, he talked about the changes within himself. "The content of practices on ice hasn't changed much from what I did up until now. It wasn't the ice which changed, but rather how I can enjoy skating now. I'm now able to have more fun skating."
After the defeat in WTT, he gained more consciousness. "I want to grow as much as I can." However after being 4th in Worlds, due to the problem of his boots not fitting well, he wasn't able to perform in a way that satisfied him in WTT. While holding himself responsible, Uno continued to look ahead and had a new important pillar in his hands. Which was the awareness of "I want to grow as much as I can". It was also a feeling he had originally. You can say that he has returned to his origins.
After he started practicing with Kagiyama Yuma, he thought "I don't want to leave it". After seeing Vincent Zhou at a competition, he also noticed a sense of stability from him during practice, wondering how many times he's practiced his free program on a daily basis.
"I thought I could practice more."
Because he wanted to have growth, he decided to challenge a total of 5 quad jumps in his FS, which is a program with highest difficulty for him. By growing up, he can aim for results as well.
"I do what I'm able to do, and I think the result of that is my ability."
The desire of improving before and after Pyeongchang isn't two different motives but the same. Since Uno was able to realize that again, the shaking of his heart had disappeared. And so, in Beijing Olympics, he was able to beautifully land the Quad Loop, which he fell at the beginning of his free in Pyeongchang. It was also a symbol of these past 4 years.
"What I think about doing after the Olympics is to return to Japan, and practice for Worlds as soon as possible. Since I think I can improve more. I want to get better and better."
At medalist conference he also mentions Olympic Champion Nathan Chen was a source to keep him going.
"I don't have a sense of stability as much as Nathan does in practice, so I'm not regretting my performance." He also talks about Kagiyama, who also won a medal.
"Yuma-kun and I often get together at ice-shows or practices, and I've been working hard but, the two of them stand on the same podium at Olympics. I'm really happy, and I also simply think he worked really hard. As long as Yuma-kun is in my skating life, I can continue to be motivated. His growth is so remarkable that I think I would like to be an athlete who's not left behind and who can stay as someone he can continue to say he respects."
Because he's already improving, he is aiming for a higher place. Uno is already thinking of going one step further.
