Image: Octopi Media.

After his podium performance on Tuesday, 2018 Monster Energy Supercross champion Jason Anderson opened up about his newfound appreciation for the sport that is fueling his recent upswing in results.

It’s no doubt that motocross is one of the toughest sports on earth. While it may look glamourous from the outside, what riders go through to compete at the top of the sport is something most could never handle.

Anderson has endured what some would say is one of the most rigorous training programs in the sport, under the guidance of Aldon Baker. But it’s the folks he’s surrounded himself with and the program he’s on now that he says is helping him excel in the latter half of the 2021 450SX championship.

“To be honest I think just the group that I’m around. Even when I go to practice and stuff you know, I’m with the Lawrence brothers and Joey [Savatgy] and we have a good time.

“And I think that’s the biggest part about it, is we work hard and we enjoy and that’s something that I feel I’ve been kind of searching for over the years.  I think that’s part of it and I think just in my life in general, you know I’m getting older and I feel like I just am in a good spot in life.”

Aside from the new surroundings, Anderson cited an overall appreciation for the sport that is attributing to what he says is the first time in his career that he’s enjoyed the grind it takes to be competitive in the premier class.

“I think one of my priorities, and you don’t realize it until you go through it, but what we do is pretty freaking awesome and I’m really enjoying doing it lately.

“At some points in the past I really liked riding dirtbikes but the actual training side of it, you know it’s tough. It’s a grind day in and day out, this sport ain’t easy. But right now I’m enjoying myself and I’m enjoying the hard work which is a first for me I could say.”

Still searching for his first win of the season, Anderson will get another shot at it this Saturday for the last of three races in the Atlanta Motor Speedway residency.