THE SUN WAS peeking from behind thick clouds over Wimbledon as Andy Murray took a break from training. The oldest tennis tournament in the world, where white-clad athletes entertain strawberry-nibbling crowds, was yet to start. (Strawberries, a delicacy when Wimbledon first began in nineteenth-century London, have long been traditional fare at the tournament).

Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion (and American Express tennis ambassador), has won Wimbledon multiple times, first in 2013 against Novak Djokovic and then again in 2016 against Milos Raonic. But the 36-year-old hasn’t cracked the world’s top-32 tennis players since 2018, as he’s dealt with hip issues, pandemic delays, and a hiatus in 2021 to welcome his fourth child. Now ever-determined, the Dunblane, Scotland-born player has achieved his first wins on grass since that 2016 double championship at Wimbledon, with 2023 victories at Surbiton Trophy and the Nottingham Open.

This professional resolve surfaced throughout our conversation, as Murray struggled to redirect his thoughts to off-court pleasures — that is until he started talking about his wife, Kim Sears, and their four young children. “There are a few more demands on my time right now,” he confessed. “[But] I get to be at home with my family.”

Of course, those hard-to-reach, more personal layers are where the good stuff is. He had some surprising advice for his younger self and important reflections on regret, alternative lives, and the meaning of success.

What’s a meal that reminds you of home?

My grandma’s soup. My two favorites are minestrone and chicken broth. We always have buttered bread rolls that she gets fresh in the morning. The first thing I do when I go home is drive to her house and ask if she’s got any soup. She’s 90. I’m starting to realize it’s a little bit unreasonable to make her rustle food up like she did when we were younger [laughs]. She’s brilliant. But she doesn’t want to give anyone her secret recipes.

How do you define success?

This is a really hard question for me because ultimately what you’re trying to do in sports is win. But in tennis, if you play 25 tournaments a year, you’re going to lose every week, and you’re going to be unhappy, so it has to be about effort.

All that you can do is do your best — and it’s good to be hard on yourself. But a lot of the time, when I tried my hardest and maybe hadn’t gotten the outcome I wanted, I would still be beating myself up.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

A psychologist told me, “Imagine your kid was in that situation — how would you speak to them?” I certainly speak to my children a lot better than I speak to myself.

Who has been your greatest teacher?

I always turn to my mum. She’s usually the person I call if something has gone wrong or if I’m upset about something. I find her really comforting, and she listens really well and has always been very supportive.

What’s your most treasured personal ritual?

Post-training ice baths when my legs are sore. In the last month, I’ve started taking ice baths when I wake up, which is really hard because my kids wake me up at 6:30 in the morning, and then I’m in a 6-degree bath.

What’s the best place to disappear?

I see disappearing as not being recognized and just being able to be normal — not getting stopped in the street to take pictures or selfies. When I go to Japan or China, I feel like nobody recognizes me, and that’s what disappearing feels like to me now.