Athletes’ Perceived Team Climate, Social Support, and Optimistic Thoughts During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the Spring of 2020, Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was officially declared a global pandemic, which prompted an unprecedented number of changes to societal functioning. Amongst those who experienced significant life alterations were collegiate athletes within the United States (US). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between US athletes’ perceptions of their team motivational climate, perceived support from coaches and teammates, and their optimistic thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic. US collegiate athletes (N = 756; 56.3% female; Mage = 20.07 years, SDage = 1.57 years) across a variety of levels (e.g., Division I) and sports (e.g., basketball) were invited to participate in this study. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed significant positive associations between a caring and task-involving climate, athletes’ feeling supported by their coaches and teammates, and athletes’ optimistic thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, an ego-involving climate was significantly negatively associated with athletes’ feeling supported by their coaches and teammates. The final results suggest that the supportive actions of coaches and teammates during difficult times can mediate the positive connection between perceptions of a caring-task-involving climate on athletic teams and an athlete’s ability to stay optimistic during difficult life stressors.