When I walked into the Hansen Football Performance Center on Tuesday morning, I wasn’t expecting a philosophy lesson from punter Tory Taylor.

Admittedly, I was running a bit late to an Iowa football availability session scheduled for 10:45 a.m. When I walked through the large silver doors that separate the Hawkeyes’ indoor practice field from the outside world, I saw my fellow reporters talking to offensive lineman Connor Colby.

I was kicking myself for my tardiness, wondering what interview materials I had missed out on. Then, Taylor emerged through an automatic sliding door that connects the practice turf to Iowa’s weight room.

As I approached Taylor with other reporters, I anticipated the conversation would be about what he needs to work on this spring, how he can prepare himself for an NFL career, and what can be expected of him next season.

Instead, I got something I didn’t know I needed from Taylor: perspective.

Taylor plays one of the most pressure-packed positions in football. At most, punters take one snap per offensive series — sometimes fewer. Yet, they’re expected to sit in the elements for hours at a time (whether it be hot and dry or wet and rainy) and flip the field when called upon. In general, punters probably play less than five minutes each game. Even longer plays that feature punters only take about 30 seconds.

Yet, all of that doesn’t seem to bother Taylor.

“At the end of the day, it’s really just a game,” Taylor said. “Football is never going to define me as a person or anything like that … It doesn’t really matter what happens out on the golf course or the football field. You’re still going to be able to put your head on the pillow and that’s all that matters.”

RELATED: Australian ‘Punter From Down Under’ Tory Taylor continues to excel with Hawkeye football

Taylor’s meditation on lifestyle and mindset didn’t end there. The near-25-year-old focuses on being a good person before he even thinks about football.

“It’s better to be a better person than a football player,” Taylor said. “I’ll always judge people on what they are as a person, never as a football player because it’s two or three hours on a Saturday. The way I see it, I’m only going to be a football player for so long, but I’m going to be my own individual until I’m dead. So, I just want to be a good person instead of a good football player.

“I mean, it’s really not that hard to be nice, is it? Sometimes, people find it harder than others, but that’s just who I am,” Taylor added. “That’s not just me saying that to the camera. I’m pretty easy going. Don’t really take too much seriously just because I feel like life’s too short. There’s no point in worrying.”

Taylor said he doesn’t let things in the past bother him because they already happened. Taylor added that he doesn’t dwell on punts too often.

Taylor said he doesn’t let spectator criticism linger in his mind either, adding that fan behavior is sometimes frustrating.

“What frustrates me is, we’re the ones putting in the work,” Taylor said. “We’re the ones wanting to win more than the other people. We’re the ones that started this back in January. We’re not the ones sitting at home drinking a beer and eating a hot dog on the couch like most of them. We want to win more than anyone else. I think that’s one thing I don’t think people quite grasp. Losses hurt just as much as anything because we’re the ones putting in the work.

“That’s one thing I try to tell others, if they’re not your friend or they’re not your mate or they’re not your family, I really wouldn’t be too worried about what they say,” Taylor added. “Sometimes, I’m just like, ‘why don’t you come do it, hero?’ You know what I mean? It’s not as easy as people think.”

Taylor later noted that he does have an appreciation for the passion Hawkeye fans have, but the reproval Iowa receives after losses is taxing.

While Taylor does seem to have many aspects of his life “figured out,” he is not without worry or anguish. The punter from Down Under hasn’t been home in nearly a year.

“It’s probably a lot more difficult than I let on,” Taylor said. “One of my big goals was having my parents and my family, my little brother, and things like that in the stands. That has yet to happen. So, I think that’ll be a really big moment for me, just from an emotional point of view. My parents as well because they’re really the people that I do this for.”

As the media circle surrounding Taylor thinned out, I stuck around. Out of pure curiosity, I asked him how he deals with his own mental struggles.

“Mental struggles is kind of a big word,” Taylor said. “I wouldn’t say I’m really struggling with it. It’s kind of a day-by-day thing that you continue to work on. I’m really just lucky that there’s guys in the building that support me away from the football field.”

Taylor added that he owes a lot of credit to the Hawkeyes’ team psychologist, who he visits two or three times a week.

After I asked Taylor a few more questions and talked to a couple other players, I headed for my truck. As I climbed in and drove to class, I thought about what I might write about this afternoon. I couldn’t stop thinking about Taylor’s words. So, this column is sort of my amalgamation of what Taylor said.

I think we could all take a page out of Taylor’s book — worry less, think more, be kind to each other, and accept that we can’t be perfect. As Taylor said, life’s too short to do anything else.

“I think people that say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m just living in the moment,’ they’re lying to you,” Taylor said. “It’s just really trying to not think too far ahead… Worry about what I can do today. I feel like it’s the little steps that always lead to bigger things.”