SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Late in the toughest season of his career, San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey found himself attempting the most difficult block of his life: a constant stream of outside criticism.

It was mid-December 2020 and the Niners had relocated to Arizona because of Santa Clara County COVID-19 restrictions. The season was slipping away under a pile of devastating injuries and McGlinchey could do nothing about it.

Under normal circumstances, those struggles could be eased by a hug from a family member or a meal with teammates. In the middle of a pandemic, those outlets weren't an option.

After games, McGlinchey would grab food and retire to his room, trying to pass the time by FaceTiming his girlfriend and family and burning through a variety of Netflix offerings.

In the toughest of times, such as after a disappointing Dec. 13 loss to the Washington Football Team in which he was flagged for a costly holding penalty that negated a 22-yard pass play and effectively killed a potential game-tying drive, McGlinchey did the one thing he knew he shouldn't do: He read the comments.

Twitter and Instagram offered harsh critiques of his play, constant comments about his lighter 290-pound frame and occasional personal attacks.

Doom scrolling commenced.

"I had never really dealt with something like that before," McGlinchey said. "I had never dealt with people who had access to me who didn't necessarily know what they were talking about. Some right, some wrong. When you hear something enough and you see something enough, you start kind of believing it yourself."

More than eight months later, McGlinchey is standing on the 49ers practice field, a big smile on his face as he recounts what he would call the worst year of his life. Entering his fourth NFL season, McGlinchey is in the best shape of his life ... mentally. He has friends, family, former teammates and coaches and a mental conditioning coach to thank.

"Just talking to him, being around him, you can tell he's in a great space and a great place," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "And I think he's ready to go."

Reaching out for help

For most of his football-playing life, McGlinchey has known nothing but success. He was a highly-touted high school recruit and a three-year starter at Notre Dame. Although he'd had some ups and downs during his first two NFL seasons, the good outweighed the bad.

Which made last season's struggles unique. He ranked 44th of 62 qualified offensive tackles in pass block win rate and his four holding penalties were tied for the second-most among offensive linemen.

Among the people McGlinchey called on for help were Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly and Joe Staley, the former 49ers offensive tackle and one of McGlinchey's closest friends.

Kelly could tell that McGlinchey was holding things back.

"He's very prideful," Kelly said. "He keeps a lot of stuff inside. But he was at times feeling like he could elevate his play. And he'll take that into the season. He's harder on himself than any one individual fan could be."

Staley sensed something similar. In his first two seasons, McGlinchey leaned on Staley when he hit turbulent spots but Staley was no longer just a few lockers away.

McGlinchey and Staley talked often during the season. Staley reminded McGlinchey of his rookie season when Denver Broncos edge rusher Von Miller beat him on back-to-back plays and McGlinchey began to let his focus drift.

At the time, Staley told McGlinchey that Miller beats everybody sometimes, he just can't let it be all the time. Likewise, a short memory has to be kept in a job where perfection is unattainable and gifs of your miscues are abundant on social media.

"I didn't have to deal with that when I was a young player," Staley said. "I was given a chance to develop and earn my wings, I didn't have social media that was analyzing every single block that I had. And you have to deal with that now. You have an obligation to correct it, but also allow yourself to fail without worrying about other people's opinion about what you're doing."

Two weeks after the 2020 season finally, mercifully ended, McGlinchey stepped away from it all. His brother and sister visited and they joined McGlinchey and his girlfriend for some much-needed beach time.

McGlinchey reflected on what went wrong, making sure to also note the things he did well.

"The first thing that jumped out in the biggest way was how I handled my frustrations, how I handled the pressure, the way I wasn't able to focus on what gets me better," McGlinchey said. "I was focusing on results. I was focusing on the negative things that were happening to me rather than how can I get better? How can I help my team win? And how can I have fun with this?"

That epiphany led McGlinchey to seek someone who could help. Ben Peterson, the Niners head of player health and performance, pointed McGlinchey to Derin McMains, a mental conditioning coach and former pro baseball player. McGlinchey had crossed paths with McMains when he had worked as a coaching consultant at Notre Dame.

McGlinchey called McMains, who is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the pair hit it off immediately. That initial call turned into weekly meetings via Zoom or on the phone and have continued since with McGlinchey calling McMains a "life changer" for him.

According to McGlinchey, their conversations cover a lot of ground but center on where McGlinchey allows his mind to go at the moments that matter most.

It's third-and-12 with the game on the line, is McGlinchey thinking about what happens if he allows a sack? Or is he locked in on doing his job and executing his technique? The primary objective has been to remove the worry about negative outcomes and committing to what it takes to do his job effectively.

"The biggest thing, the thing that separates you at this level, it's your mind but it's really your focus," McGlinchey said. "So, where can you put yourself in the hardest of moments and where can you put yourself at the toughest time in the game?"

'Believe'

I believe in believe.

— Ted Lasso (@TedLasso) January 15, 2021

What McGlinchey is saying sounds a lot like some of the primary messages the hit TV show "Ted Lasso" has brought into the collective conversation for its viewers.

McGlinchey nods his head and chuckles when this is mentioned to him. Long before Lasso, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand had the word "Believe" on a sign made to resemble the famous "Play Like a Champion Today" sign at Notre Dame.

McGlinchey would see it almost daily during his time in South Bend. When he watched Lasso, he couldn't help but conclude sometimes the simplest messages carry the most weight.

Now, McGlinchey has his own "Believe" sign hanging in his house. If that's not enough, the word is written in white script on his black wrist guards for more a convenient reminder.

"Believe and commit, that's the cycle, it just continues for 65-70 snaps a game and the more you can do it, the more free you can play," McGlinchey said. "And that's why I've got it written here for me all the time now."

As the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 draft, McGlinchey is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The 49ers already offered a vote of confidence by picking up his fifth-year option in May, guaranteeing him $10.88 million in 2022.

Still, this is a big season for McGlinchey's football future. Though he's aware of that, he's quick to point out such things are a distraction.

"It was something I worried about before and it's not something that I'll ever worry about again," McGlinchey said. "The two things that will take care of it are my job and my technique. If I do those things the right way 75 times a day, 75 times a game, the rest will take care of itself."

To that end, McGlinchey also took necessary steps to prepare himself physically. He spent the offseason working out six times a week and added to his frame by eating every two to three hours.

"I get to come in and hang out with my best friends every day and play football and compete at something I am really damn good at," McGlinchey said. "I have to remember that. I have to get the weight of the world off my shoulders because I'm one of like seven billion and at the end of the day, nobody cares. You've just got to do your job, do it to the best of your ability and have fun with it."

The result of the offseason work helped McGlinchey gain 25 pounds. And yet, he's lighter than ever.