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Amazingly enough, athletic achievement is one of those things that seems larger than life at points. I think we all look to sport for inspirations.

I've met and sketched most of the great athletes from the past five decades and their movement, grace and energy have kept me captivated over the years. That's what the ancient Greeks first saw and that's what caught my interest.

In sports, people reach their peak very early. You have to move on. I don't know if I will ever surpass what I did at the Olympics, but I'm still doing the work I always wanted to do.

If there's any indirect way I can motivate or inspire Olympic athletes... that is one of the greatest honors. Even Natalie Coughlin saying that I inspired her. I'm so humbled by that. I think that's amazing.

You need to think outside the box. You need to think differently if you want to sustain what, for me, is my peak performance: the very best that I can achieve as an athlete every day.

The things that people do now in sports, you can't even believe. These are complete total athletes. To see what human beings can do in the highest level is amazing.

I've seen myself do stuff on stage that was pretty amazing. I think that would be true for any athlete. Any top athlete will see something that they are very proud of. All my injuries will attest to the fact that besides being a musician, it comes down to being an athlete.

When you've won a gold medal and you're at the top of your sport, everyone's trying to beat you. I find that incredibly motivating.

One guy that really inspired me was Michael Jordan. I wouldn't say that he inspired me as a sportsman, but I love going back and watching videos of him, especially how he conducts himself in interviews. He always seemed to be very careful about the words that he used and thought about everything differently to anybody else.

You must relate athletic experiences to life.