The year 2020 has been generally tough on people for a lot of reasons. And I thank my lucky stars that in the midst of such a crazy, unpredictable world that I get to do what I do. Being a writer is equally unpredictable at times. And though sometimes the work can be inconsistent and random, I’ve been lucky to get to do a lot of fantastic things.

To start off 2020, I got to go to the Bahamas, and go there in January, no less—I live in chilly Chicago—was nothing short of amazing. But I wasn’t just there to hit the beach and play golf. I also got to interview my first Hall of Fame golfer, Greg Norman—in person. That first time we spoke about the business of building golf courses and who his favorite players to watch were. And a few months later we had a second conversation, in which he talked about how he build his mega brand, and how he got good at golf.

Just two months after that I got another opportunity to meet a golf legend, as well as one of the games current top players. In March 2020, I hit Orlando, Florida for the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament. Before play kicked off at Bay Hill that Wednesday, I met PGA tour pro Justin Rose over coffee to talk about the legend Arnold Palmer, and an hour later I got to talk putting fundamentals with Annika Sorenstam.

I got back to Chicago from Bay Hill on March 6, and ten days later the world began to change. COVID-19 was identified as a mortal threat the start of a pandemic. Lockdowns were mandated by local governments, and the sports world ground to a halt.

Like a lot of folks everywhere, I stayed home and worked from home. I wore a mask, and washed my hands furiously as a precaution to keep myself and my family safe. And as events worldwide got canceled, some of the talk around sports was “What next?” and also what the athletes were doing. Like the rest of us, professional athletes were just trying to stay safe and try to live as normally as possible during shelter-at-home orders. For me, working at home meant a lot fo phone interviews with athletes and sportspeople of all stripes.

In NASCAR, drivers were shuttered from the track, but that didn’t stop them from competing in the simulated iRacing format, to stay sharp for the season reopening. WNBA star Sue Bird and told me she her partner Megan Rapinoe binged-watched Tiger King (admit it, you did too) and that they kept themselves in shape with daily workouts, and kept social having wine with friends over Zoom.

After that, some other great interviews chem up. Dan Marino and I talked about the legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula. Anthony Rizzo filled me in on what baseball during COVID might look like, and talked about the Cubs, their 2016 World Series, and what the Dodgers might look like in 2020.

Then came some other heavy hitters. I got to speak with Scottie Pippen about his time with the Chicago Bulls, and some basketball history. Naomi Osaka spoke about our changing world, and how she says athletes must work hard and make their voices heard to promote equality for all. And I got to speak with Shaquille O’Neal—SHAQ!!!—who spoke about his businesses and investing, as well as the advice he got from Jeff Bezos and coach Phil Jackson.

To top it all off, five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky talked about the difficulty and commitment involved in her training and how being so dominant as a swimmer.

All in all, for as weird and sometimes awful as 2020 has been, I’ve been fortunate to talk with a lot of great people who are influential in both the worlds of sports and business. Not a bad gig I have.