the difference to me, by the way, when it comes to sidney crosbyβs acts of goodness and kindness versus nico hischierβs, is that i believe sid is aware that he is choosing to do good or kind things because deep in the recesses of his mind exists an abacus on which he is tallying the worth of his soul and he is always fighting in the spiritual trenches to keep that thing in the green. thereβs a sort of self-awareness to sidβs kindness and generosity, like a gently smug kind of layer deep down underneath it where he knows heβs just bought himself one more opportunity to grab an opposing player by the knees and spin-launch them into the boards like mario does to bowser. every time he screeches at someone on the ice with a cracking voice that theyβre being a pussy or steamrolls into an early-twenties player for no reason but the crime of being gen z he knows he has to go out into the world and perform a miracle. this has nothing to do with his public perception btw he does not care what the world thinks of him. itβs all for his private and meticulously kept internal abacus.
nico, however, does good and is kind because the concept of behaving another way does not seem to ever register in his mind. he is being the best nico he can be. he believes everyone around him, even jack hughes, is both trying their best and also proud of everything they try. even jack hughes! if nico wasnβt a hockey player his chosen career would be like a guy who listens to 911 calls and dispatches himself to them. heβd be a guy who holds the nose of the plane steady during turbulence. heβd be a professional guy who squeezes your hand once and tells you how brave youβre being at the dentists or the doctors. and heβd mean it. he does think youβre being brave. he thinks everyone is being brave. even jack hughes
