Life as an Olympic swimming champion became a rollercoaster ride for Kyle Chalmers and he soon wanted to get off.
But a refreshed Chalmers, 19, said he had now learned to enjoy the ride ahead of his official comeback at the four-day Gold Coast Commonwealth Games trials starting on Wednesday.
Chalmers admitted he became "burnt out" trying to manage his newfound profile after claiming a shock 100m freestyle gold at Rio at just 18.
However, Chalmers believes he has extended his career by taking a 2017 break to "just be Kyle" ahead of his return.
Chalmers opted to skip the 2017 world titles and undergo surgery for a heart condition.
It gave him welcome time to get his head around his post-Rio life.
"It was really a rollercoaster ride," Chalmers said.
"I won an Olympic gold medal at 18 years old and the stuff that came with that was something I never even thought would happen.
"Going to an AFL grand final ... meeting the Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield; speaking with guys that I've watched on TV ... it was just really surreal.
"I had lots of guest speaking roles and I was doing those two to three times a week and trying to train and travel and I guess I probably just burnt out a bit."
Chalmers said he felt rejuvenated before launching his comeback in the hotly-contested 200m freestyle on Wednesday.
"Having that time where I could do my own thing and just be Kyle for a while ... it was cool to experience that," he said.
"It motivated me to get back in the pool and made me realise that there are so many great things that come with sport.
"I've just got to control myself now. There's always going to be rollercoasters, highs and lows in the sport and if I've learnt that at such a young age, it hopefully means I can have a long career."
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