Jeremy Lin isn’t backing off.

After admitting that he felt like he hit “rock bottom” in a video of him crying that went viral, the point guard was hit from all sides. People, including other voices in basketball, felt Lin’s earnings and successes in the NBA outweighed his right to be upset over it.

Asked about that criticism at a forum in Shanghai, Lin defended himself and his message.

“I think showing weakness is one of the greatest signs of strength,” Lin said. “Ironically, to be able to be OK with your weakness is one of the strongest things you could do. Who doesn’t have weaknesses? We all do. But to show them is one of the strongest things you can do.

“And I just feel like I know why I’m doing that. If I rubbed people the wrong way, I’m sorry. But at the end of the day, I know what I’ve been through. I know the obstacles that I’ve been through and I also know what kind of player I can become, and I know I haven’t done that. And so that’s what I’m going to continue to do is chase that and try to be the best version of myself.”

Lin has openly discussed his difficulty in coming to terms with the decline in his career after Linsanity. He lost his starting job, suffered injuries and ended up riding the bench for the Raptors as they won the NBA Finals this past season.

“I knew going on stage, I knew I was going to break down, you know?” Lin said. “I knew that was part of it, and I was willing to do it because I was like, hey, this is part of a message or something that I want to push. It’s like, we’re human. We’re not perfect. We struggle. We chase our dreams. We often fail. But through it all, God is still sovereign and great.

“So many of my worst situations have turned into the best things for me. So knowing that there’s purpose and peace and the midst of your hardships makes it so that when I am in the midst of a valley like I am right know where I don’t see the fruits of my labor … I don’t see anything paying off, I still know I can keep plugging away and there’s a reason why this is happening.”

Lin said he hasn’t paid too much attention to the reaction. His goal is to get his message out, and it’s one of positivity.

“Man, try. Fail. It’s OK,” Lin said. “Get back on your feet. Fail again. It’s OK. This is life.”