ORLANDO — “Where did you come from?” was the first question 20-year-old Jonathan Osorio faced three years ago here in Florida, the beginning of his TFC journey. It didn’t faze him. He was already well aware of his anonymity within the North American game.

Nobody knew anything about him — something he uses as motivation to this day.

Osorio’s second answer to the Sun’s question that day — I recall it vividly — blew me away.

“I’m the kind of player who likes to control the game,” said Osorio, who at that point was just a rookie, a kid.

It was bold, considering he didn’t have a professional minute to his name. Heck, as a pre-season trialist, Osorio didn’t even have a contract. At the time, head coach Ryan Nelsen wasn’t even completely sold on him. Some still aren’t.

Three years and 84 MLS appearances later, Osorio reminisces on a couch in a somewhat secluded hallway inside the exquisite Omni Orlando resort. The circumstances are much more relaxed than they were three years ago, Osorio much more established.

“It’s funny I’m talking to you about this,” Osorio said. “I remember seeing an article — your article — saying the reserve league was going to be good for me.

“I wasn’t offended. I just took it as, ‘This guy just doesn’t know.’ I knew I was good enough to play in MLS.”

Reserve league? Uh, no.

In all honesty, this columnist pegged Osorio as a “long shot” to make the roster in 2013.

“I always believed in myself,” Osorio continued. “I always knew I was good enough. But people weren’t talking about me back then.

“Growing up, I had a chip on my shoulder. I wasn’t always the most-talked about player. I kind of came out of nowhere.”

It was hard to notice him. Osorio left Toronto for Uruguay in 2010 to train with Nacional’s academy, a process and experience he attributes much of his success to.

Imagine the pressure and responsibility placed on a kid who leaves home for South America at that age. Imagine the hunger Osorio must of had for the game.

“My family, we’re fighters,” Osorio explained. “My parents are always fighting every day. They worked to give me and my brothers the lives we wanted. They had to sacrifice a lot. When I see that, I feel like I should sacrifice a lot.

“Not only that, I love this game so much I would do anything for it.”

While spending two years in Uruguay is pretty extreme, it was a prelude to bigger and better things.

Toronto FC’s decrepit state in 2013 saw Osorio quickly earn a place in Nelsen’s team. A month later, he burst on to the scene with a finish so sublime it didn’t seem real.

Down a goal to the New York Red Bulls early that season, Osorio collected at the top of the penalty area before cutting a defender and lobbing a left-footer over goalkeeper Luis Rubles that struck the underside of the crossbar and ricocheted in.

Not only did that moment spark pandemonium inside the venue, it sparked the beginning of Osorio as the real deal, a player who could be relied upon to produce big moments with the first team.

His profile has been on an upward trajectory ever since, his meteoric rise duly noted.

He’s no longer the player not being “talked about.”

But with that rise in notoriety comes an expectation of consistency and results. Osorio’s next three years are as uncertain as they were three years ago. That much hasn’t changed.

“The work alone will lead to other things — a bigger contract and all that stuff,” Osorio added. “Your performance on the field gives you all that.

“Some people talk about building your own brand and all that stuff. For me, your performance does that for you.”

Osorio showed no signs of contentment during Sunday’s 2-1 pre-season loss to Orlando City. The 23-year-old latched onto a pass from Jozy Altidore early in the match before roofing a close-range effort past ex-TFC ’keeper Joe Bendik.

The burst that saw him break in alone on goal is something he spent the entire off-season improving.

“I felt like I was missing those first two quick steps to close someone down or to get away from a defender,” Osorio told the Sun.

“I feel like I’ve done a good job. I feel a lot more powerful and stronger. I take my off-season very seriously.”

He’s still putting in the same work he did three years ago when he showed up to pre-season camp as a relative unknown.

“The off-season is the time you can get an advantage over everyone else,” he explained.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for a player who appears to thrive off adversity. Osorio has been excluded from the Canadian national team setup ever since last summer’s Gold Cup.

He’s missed out on massive fixtures against Honduras and it’s unclear if he’ll be included for an upcoming qualifier against Mexico in Vancouver next month.

“I have an idea of what’s going on,” Osorio said. “I’ve spoken to (head coach) Benito Floro recently. We’re on the same page, but there’s a couple of things I need to improve.

“He thinks I need to improve that within my club before I’m ready to go to the international stage and the World Cup qualifiers.

“That’s all it really is. With Atiba (Hutchinson) and Julian (de Guzman) and Will (Johnson) in the middle, he really likes that experience in that position.”

Like he did back in 2013, Osorio continues to use any perceived slight as motivation to take himself to a level he hasn’t yet reached.

You can’t tell him he’s not good enough.

“It’s the worst thing you can do to me if you don’t want me to succeed,” Osorio finished. “You have to suck it up, take it as motivation and, hopefully, I’ll be called in next time.”

The thing about Osorio is there’s always a “next time” to look forward to. He’s always working toward something bigger.

The kid who was — as the Sun put it — a “long shot” in 2013 continues to play with an eye toward the future.

And while nobody knows what that holds, Osorio won’t stop until he gets there.

Of that, you can be damn sure.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Can’t get enough of Jonathan Osorio?

Maybe his younger brothers will pan out in similar fashion.

All three Osorio bros are in Toronto FC’s system —Anthony, 21, is with TFC II while Nicholas, 18, is in the academy system.

“They look up to me and I like that a lot,” Jonathan told the Sun. “I love that. I love that they look up to me. I want to be a good example for them. I always want them to try and catch me.

“Sometimes, younger brothers are better than the older brothers. I never want that to happen.”

Kind of like a Peyton Manning-Eli Manning rivalry?

“Yeah, that’s a good analogy,” Jonathan responded. “That’s a good way to put it.”

THE OSORIO FILE

68 — The number of MLS starts for Osorio since 2013

9 — The number of MLS goals Osorio has in his career

7 — The career-high total assists Osorio tallied in 2015

10 — Osorio’s rank all-time on Toronto FC’s MLS scoring list

8 — Osorio’s rank on TFC’s all-time appearances list, two appearances out of fourth

13 —The number of caps Osorio has earned with Canada