Solomon Thomas wears five rubber wristbands.

Three of them serve as commemorations of the Navy SEALs training that the 49ers completed this offseason as a team-building exercise. The fourth comes courtesy defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who wants all 49ers players to wear a visual reminder of his “all gas, no brakes” mantra.

There’s a fifth band on Thomas’ left wrist. This one, unlike its black and red counterparts, is purple. Its inscription is simple.

Ella Elizabeth Thomas, the wristband reads, along with a heart symbol and a date: January 23, 2018.

“She loved the color purple,” Thomas says of his sister, looking down at his wrist.

Ella Thomas, 24, took her own life on that Jan. 23, and it’s a tragedy that shook Solomon to the core.

“Ella was my sister,” Thomas wrote in his first public comments about the death last week. “Ella was my best friend. She loved harder than she could breathe. She filled a room with such a strong presence that it would light up the room. She made my life go.”

On Wednesday, Thomas met with the local media for the first time since Ella’s passing. On Saturday, he’ll return to Dallas to partake in The Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk, which benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Thomas said that his group for the event has already raised $27,000 toward its objective of raising suicide awareness.

“I’m walking for my sister and everything she struggled with and went through,” Thomas said. “The things I did see, and the things I didn’t see. All the tragedies in her life that led her to this point. I’m walking for all the people who suffer around the world. It’s really easy to fake a smile and put on a face. It’s really easy to tell someone you’re fine.

“But it’s really hard to tell someone how you actually feel and all those feelings inside of you. So many people out here suffer more than you know. I’m walking for them. Mental health and suicide is a disease, just like anything else.”

Thomas said that 45,000 Americans take their own lives annually, and that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 34. Thomas learned those statistics after Ella’s death and decided to break his silence about this tragedy.

Taking advice from his mother, Martha, Thomas decided to use his platform as an NFL player to prevent others from suffering his sister’s fate.

“If people ask, I’m going to tell them what happened,” Thomas said. “It really hit home with me now, because my mom and dad and I have been there through Ella’s entire transition to being depressed. It’s something we wanted to share. People need help. This is a serious thing that people need to talk about.”

For Thomas, the world turned upside down with a call from his father, Chris, on what started as an ordinary offseason Tuesday. Thomas was training in the Dallas area on Jan. 23 when his phone rang and the devastating news came.

Ella had committed suicide.

“As brother and sister, we butted heads all the time when we were younger,” Thomas said, remembering his bond with Ella as he described the gut-wrenching impact of the news. “Then in high school, something just clicked and we were always by each other’s side, watching the same movies, always having the same laughs, finishing each other’s sentences. She was my best friend.”

Ella had opened up to Thomas and to her parents about suffering from depression back in 2015, so the family was aware that she was struggling emotionally. Still, the news of her passing came as a shock, especially since Ella was known for her outgoing personality.

“She always lit up the room,” Thomas said. “You always knew Ella was there. She was so good with people. She worked in the restaurant industry, so she had to be good with people. She could make a crying baby smile.”

A sizable contingent of 49ers flew to Texas for Ella’s funeral shortly after her death. CEO Jed York, general manager John Lynch, kicker Robbie Gould, and edge rusher Elvis Dumervil (who’s no longer with the team) all attended the service.

“To see them all at my sister’s funeral was insane,” Thomas said. “So much love. It meant the world to me and my family.”

Ella attended six 49ers games last year, including home contests near Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the entire family was able to gather in the Bay Area for those occasions.

“We had great memories up here, which was special,” Thomas said. “And those will be with me forever.”

Thomas, who played college football just a few miles north of 49ers headquarters at Stanford, said that being in close proximity to key members of his social support system has allowed him to better navigate the treacherous emotional waters of this offseason.

“It’s helped me a lot,” Thomas said. “Two of my best friends are still in school at Stanford. And being around the brotherhood of football helps a lot. You don’t think about it as much when you’re around a lot of people.”

Thomas’ parents have also visited the Bay Area twice, once on April 19 — Ella’s birthday — and once on Mother’s Day to generate the emotional warmth and comfort that can only come through togetherness.

Still, Thomas acknowledges that time spent alone is often painful and filled with regret. Thomas ruminates over specific instances during which he feels he could’ve potentially diverted Ella from the trajectory that ended in tragedy.

“You always look back on every situation,” Thomas said. “How could I have handled this? Should I have reached out at this time? Because we were extremely close, so I go back through all the situations, and try to analyze everything and see what happened.”

It’s a feeling of abject helplessness that Thomas is now coping with by taking a forward-looking perspective on the subject of suicide instead. Thomas cited a column penned by the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, titled “Everyone is Going Through Something,” as reading that’s encouraged him to develop empathy toward peoples’ hidden struggles and encourage others to do the same.

“Every conversation you have with someone is meaningful,” Thomas said. “When you’re asking how they are or how they’re doing, give them a little smile. Because that can change someone’s whole life. You never know what they’re going through, and that one conversation can give them light.”

On Wednesday, Thomas remembered one such conversation with Ella, which took place over 10 years ago when he was in the seventh grade. Ella’s best friend’s brother had passed away, and she approached Thomas with words that he hasn’t forgotten.

“She came up to me and said, ‘Solly, we never know when our last day is, and I want us to make sure that we take advantage of every day and be best friends and love each other as hard as we can for the rest of our lives.’ That’ll always stick with me, and it’s a lesson I’ll pass on to other people.”

Ella’s advice still resonates with Thomas today, and he says that it’s made especially powerful reverberations with him now that she has indeed lived her last day.

So now, working with that gaping hole in his heart, Thomas is aiming to pass Ella’s lesson of appreciation forward, so that it may help others steer clear of future tragedy. Thomas acknowledges that he’ll probably never fully process his sister’s jarring death, but he’ll do his best to find the meaning that he can in it.

“Let people know that there’s help out there,” Thomas said. “My sister was open about her depression and a lot of things that happened in her life. We were always there for her and tried to get her help.

“But there were some things that just pushed her over the edge. I understood that to a point, but I’ll also never fully understand, because it hurts.”

— Reported from Santa Clara

(Top photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images)