About 45 minutes before tipoff of every game he plays, Cory Joseph sits at his locker and closes his eyes. Headphones on, knees bouncing in front of him, he starts picturing the things he wants to happen that night. He visualizes the plays he’ll run, the opponents he’ll guard, the tendencies he’s studied on film. He pictures the passes he’ll throw and the shots he’ll take. He sees the hardwood, the nine players spaced around him, the fans, the hands in his face, the air between his shoes and the floor as he jumps to shoot, and the ball falling perfectly through the net. He sees it all. And then he goes out and tries to bring it to life.

The game-day visualization is a preparation device Joseph learned from David Cox, a sports psychologist he works with through Team Canada. Steve Nash swore by it when he was playing season after season as the best point guard in the league.

“I kid you not,” Joseph says, “there are times when something might happen in the game and I’m thinking, ‘Man, it feels like I’ve been here before.’ That’s because I’m on my visualization. It brings everything together.”