FOR Nyengeterai Guyo, the women's national team volleyball star, the switch from beach volleyball back to the indoor six-a-side game for Zimbabwe was not a difficult adjustment.
"Beach and indoors are different beasts, but the core is the same, read the game, compete hard," Guyo explained to The Sports Hub.
"Switching back to sixes for Zimbabwe actually feels like coming home. You've got five other people you trust on court, and the system is what I grew up on."
That sense of trust ran deep during week, as Zimbabwe chased an Olympic qualification spot on home soil at the Sunrise Sports Club in Belvedere, Harare.
The pressure of playing in front of their own people, Guyo admitted, is real but welcome.
"It adds pressure. But I'd rather feel that pressure than wish we had it. This is why we grind," she added.
"We want the crowd loud, we want the stakes high. That's what LA28 is about."
Off the court, volleyball has long been more than a sport for Guyo it has been an anchor.
"Volleyball has always been my safe space. When life gets heavy off court, stepping between those lines reminds me what I can control my effort, my attitude, my teammates," Guyo said.
Doubling up as an athletes chair, Guyo carries a responsibility that extends beyond her own performance.
"My job isn't just to play. It's to make sure every athlete, especially girls in this squad, feels heard and protected, so they can play free," she said.
Ahead of the clash with Zambia, she drew motivation from those around her, that is teammates who have overcome their own battles, and the younger players watching from the sidelines.
"They're why we can't drop off. We owe them a performance," she added.
Guyo's influences extend into her personal life too. Her husband, Tawanda Pamire, a volleyball coach of repute brings a perspective shaped by his own experience in the sport.
"He understands this volleyball world. He knows what a final morning feels like, the nerves, the preparation. His biggest influence on me is how he studies the game and how he treats players – with respect and honesty," she said.
Despite the shared passion, the couple keep boundaries clear.
"We do talk volleyball, but we're careful. At home it's more about mindset and recovery. Tactics for Zimbabwe are for the staff and the team room. But his belief in me? That's something I carry onto court every time."
Reflecting on a dramatic comeback from two sets down on Friday afternoon against Zambia in their final round robin match, Guyo was quick to temper celebration with focus.
"Friday showed them two things: one, we're good enough to come back from 2-0 down. Two, comebacks don't mean anything if you don't finish."
Her message to teammates is rooted in lessons learned through her club career.
"Finals are not won on talent alone. They're won on the next play. Miss a serve? Next play. Get blocked? Next play. We've been in this room before," said the ex-Harare City Queens star.
"Harare City taught me that, Black Mambas have reinforced it. Today (yesterday) it's about being calm when it's tight, trusting the system, and outworking them for five sets if we have to. No shortcuts."
For Guyo personally, a successful campaign would represent a "full circle moment" achieving in sixes what she has already chased on the beach. But the significance, she insists, goes far beyond her own story.
"For Zim Volleyball Association, it's a statement. We've been building, we've been knocking. A ticket to LA28 tells sponsors, schools, parents: invest in this sport. It's possible," said Guyo.
And for girls across the country, the message is even bigger.
"For the girls at Sunrise and watching back home in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, it's proof. Proof that a girl from Zimbabwe can stand on an Olympic court," she said.
"That's why we play. Not just for us, but for the next 14-year-old who picks up a ball because she saw us today (yesterday)."