Much ado has been made regarding the Chicago Bears' motivation for 2019 coming from the devastating conclusion of 2018.
It was do-it-all-spectacularly running back Tarik Cohen, after all, who pointed out that coach Matt Nagy has the team re-watching its playoff loss to the Eagles over and over.
For Cohen, however, his personal motivation going forward is born of tragedy in the wake of his half-brother, Dante Norman, being shot and paralyzed from the waist down in June.
"I just want to do things for him," Cohen said via the Chicago Sun Times' Madeline Kenny. "I want to just, I know it's not possible, but I feel like I want to walk for him."
While Cohen cannot walk for Norman, he plans on running for him.
"He's my purpose," Cohen said. "They've always been my purpose, my brothers and my mom, that's my dominant family that I grew up seeing every day. But I feel like it adds a little more fuel to the fire now."
The shooting occurred in early June in Cohen's native North Carolina.
The two-year pro planned on staying tight-lipped regarding the situation, but that changed during Cohen's time this past weekend hosting a football camp. It was there that Cohen saw a young camper in a wheelchair and immediately thought about his brother.
"I saw my brother in him," Cohen said. "And I just saw how much fun he was having.
''And it just made me think of my brother and how his life is going to be.
"It just came out; I wasn't planning to say it or anything."
So now Cohen moves forward into a season in which plenty of promise surrounds the Bears.
Motivation has never seemed to be in short supply for the Pro Bowler. Now he has extra as he contends a heavy heart will not slow his fleet feet, but instead propel him forward with added incentive.
"My little brother, every time he sees me, he tells me he's ready to start his rehab and things like that," Cohen said. "He knows he can bounce back, and just hearing that lets me know that he's a warrior. I don't know how I would act in that situation. I would be dwelling on what happened, but he's ready to get at it and get back to his normal self. So it's really pushing me through."
