Harry Garside hasn't ruled out stepping away from boxing after a disappointing campaign at Paris 2024.
Garside cut a dejected figure after bowing out in the first round, losing via unanimous decision to Hungarian Richard Kovacs in the 63.5kg division.
In an interview with Nine after the fight, Garside said he was "numb", and that he felt like a "failure".
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More than a fortnight on, Garside admitted that numbness remains.
He still hadn't been able to fully decompress after the fight, and is eyeing a few quiet weeks at home to "let the dust settle" and paint a clearer picture of what his future looks like.
"I'm not really sure what's next … I'm still a bit numb, I have been since I fought," he told Wide World of Sports at Sydney Airport.
"I'll enjoy my time at home and see some family and have some bad food and maybe drink some beers with Dad.
"Then I think I'll be able to really sort of re-engage and think with a clearer mind."
Garside and more than 100 other Aussie athletes touched down to an official welcoming party at the Qantas hangar at Sydney Airport. Dignitaries included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW premier Chris Minns, and Governor General Sam Mostyn.
Garside will be 31 by the time LA 2028 rolls around, and is open to competing at his third Games.
But he also suggested nothing was off the table – including a career away from boxing.
"What's next? I'm not sure. The world is my oyster, and it always is for everyone," he said.
"We get the choice to write the chapters of our life, and I'm not sure what's next – if it's LA, professional, if it's not boxing. Who knows? I'm just excited for whatever it is."
Despite the long flight, bleary eyes, and the fact this was one of countless interviews he had done and would do, Garside was still incredibly upbeat, friendly and captivating.
"We're Olympic athletes. We want the best, we want gold medals, but no result ever actually changes your self worth or the respect you can have for yourself," he said.
"I get that personally through my little day-to-day actions of how I treat people and stuff like that.
"Of course I wanted the gold medal, but that didn't happen, and that doesn't change me as a person."
Before Paris, Garside did an at-times bizarre 100-day challenge where he deliberately put himself in uncomfortable situations in a bid to feel more comfortable with the uncomfortable.
He could be set to do another.
"There will be a big one, surely. Take my mind off some things."
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