"Recognize when your inner drive is gone Clint Dempsey reflected on the moment he knew his international career was over after the US failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. He said representing his country "was the greatest joy for me" as a kid, and "once that was kind of done... that's when I knew it was kind of time to hang the boots up because it wasn't there anymore." Tracking whether the deep joy behind a pursuit has genuinely faded — not just short-term frustration — is a more reliable signal to exit than external results alone. Source: Clint Dempsey, Men in Blazers Live, US vs Belgium Pre-World Cup Show"