Life in professional sports has always included road trips and stretches of time away from families for players and staff, but nothing like this.
Morell, P.E.I. native Scott Morrison is in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Fla., as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. His wife Susanne (Canvin) Morrison, from Charlottetown, is back in Boston with their nine-month-old son, Max.
“It’s definitely been hard and it’s kind of my first time really experiencing it for any length of time,” Scott said Tuesday from Orlando. “She’s doing all the work and she’s the real trooper in this.”
While road trips have end dates, exactly how long Scott and his Celtics family will be in Florida depends on how well they fare once the playoffs begin Aug. 17.
“You just take it day by day,” Susanne said. “That’s all you can really do.”
She remembers the day the team departed about three weeks ago.
“All the families were out on the tarmac and I don't think there was a single family that wasn't kind of in tears,” she said. “This has definitely been a test for so many families.”
The Morrisons also recognize there was a positive side to the situation.
“We did have the four-month hiatus where I was home every day, every night, and I got to build a real good relationship with my son and got to spend extra time with my wife and our dog and our whole family,” Scott explained. “It’s really something that would never happened, if the pandemic hadn’t've occurred, so we tried to make the most of it.”
He also knows it’s a business and families have been split up for work reasons for years.
The players and staff are also well taken care of at the resort inside the NBA bubble.
“We don't look for any sympathy from that standpoint, but I guess it’s nice to have people around here that understand what everyone is going through and it is tough no matter how much money you make, how nice the pool is or how many rounds of golf you can get in, you’d still rather be home (or) have your family here, if it was possible,” Scott said.
“There’s still a lot of people that would trade spots, who might never get the chance, so I think that we all understand we’re lucky to have these jobs and this is kind of a small bump in the road.”
The Celtics have been in Florida and resume regular season games tonight.
Scott said the first couple of weeks were the toughest. The family uses different platforms to spend time together virtually through video calls, which Max enjoys.
“He gets so excited when he hears that FaceTime ring,” Susanne explained. “I think he knows that people he loves are on the other end.”
Scott added: “Susanne will make him laugh and make him smile so I get to see that. It’s not the same as being there but it’s good to have the technology.”
While some families left Boston when the team departed for Florida, Susanne could not. She has to clear the next hurdle in the immigration process in the United States before starting the process of returning to Prince Edward Island to spend time with family.
Susanne said during normal times she would be taking their son to play dates, swimming or the beach, but she has kept their circle small in order to keep everyone safe.
Scott is hoping for a long playoff run with the Celtics and then some quality time with his young family.
