MOTIVATION AND TRUST IN SPORTS COMMUNICATION: A PHILOSOPHICAL DIMENSION

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive philosophical-anthropological analysis of motivation and trust as fundamental foundations of sports communication. The relevance of the topic is determined by the transformation of contemporary sport under conditions of globalisation, commercialisation and digitalisation, wherein technical performance and quantitative metrics frequently overshadow the value-laden and meaning-constitutive dimensions of athletic activity. The paper proposes viewing sport not merely as a domain of physical achievement, but as a specific space of communicative practices grounded in the complex interplay of identities. Central attention is devoted to trust as an ontological precondition for the existence of any sports community. Trust is analysed not simply as a psychological state of comfort, but as a fundamental intentionality that makes possible collective interaction and legitimises hierarchical structures within the coach–athlete relationship. It is argued that without the act of trust in the Other – partner, coach, or opponent – sports communication loses its integrity, dissolving into a mechanical aggregate of actions. Motivation in this study is interpreted through the prism of existential choice and the individual’s aspiration towards self-transcendence. It is demonstrated that in the “society of the spectacle,” motivation frequently undergoes erosion under the pressure of external symbolic structures: brands, media images, and rankings. The necessity of a return to “intrinsic motivation,” rooted in respect for cultural norms and the ethics of Fair Play, is substantiated. Particular emphasis is placed on processes of athlete identity formation and the philosophical dimension of the word as a motivational factor in sports activity. It is argued that identity in sport is constructed at the intersection of the subjective experience of corporeality and the collective experience of the team. The symbolic structures of sport – rituals and codes of conduct – are examined as mediators transmitting values of solidarity and responsibility. The conclusions state that the restoration of trust in sports communication is a key condition for preserving the humanistic potential of sport. The scholarly novelty of the article lies in the elaboration of a philosophical model of “trust-based communication,” in which motivation appears not as an instrument for achieving success at any cost, but as a will towards authentic being in sport.