We all need a backstop

We all need a backstop

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This LOL Sober episode shares one person's answer, using an unlikely hero: a baseball backstop. Nelson, an alcoholic addict writing under a pen name, looks back on his youth as a pitcher. He remembers playing on rural fields with no fence behind the catcher, where a curveball in the dirt could roll endlessly away.

That missing backstop left him feeling exposed, afraid that "one mistake could be the beginning of the end." He connects that feeling directly to his current sober life. Nelson talks about his pattern of getting to 12-step meetings more easily on some days and missing them on others. Even with long-term sobriety and roughly four meetings a week, he notices a clear difference between regularly spaced meetings and clumps of meetings followed by several days off.

When he strings too many days without a meeting, he doesn't describe an imminent relapse, but he does notice a "spiritual slide". His attitude gets bumpier, and he feels less grounded, almost like he’s “pitching without a backstop" in daily life. The focus here isn’t on one dramatic mistake, but on the quiet mental erosion that comes from feeling alone and unsupported.

You’ll hear how consistent contact with his programme, people, prayers, and newcomers gives him that reassuring fence behind the catcher — something that makes each "pitch" in life feel less risky. The tone stays candid and conversational, with a touch of humour around his childhood baseball skills, while still stressing how serious the need for regular support can feel.

If you’ve ever wondered why meeting frequency matters, or felt like you’re throwing pitches with no safety net, this story might prompt you to ask: what’s your backstop, and are you using it often enough?