Ouch... Terrible skate for poor Sota. He missed all jumps, so 43-something sounds fair enough. No Onishi in KnC but his old coach Naruse, but it might be because Onishi is from Osaka and not Aichi.
He really needs to do something about his mental problem with jumps. His season is quickly going downhill, and I am getting Gracie Gold vibes, and that would be a career path I absolutely don't want for Sota.
I still have hope for him. His jumps failed him once, and he overcame it to become a star. Now he's in the same position again: he's lost to Taichiro, so I hope that ignites whatever the move to Howa awoke in him years back, and that he enters the same path as back then. It's all in his head (and his hands) now.
Good luck in the free, Sota! Less thinking and more muscle memory might help, perhaps...
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Leaving this here - Sota's comments after the SP, someone please help with translating?
「これだけ試合中に『途中でやめたい』と思ったのは初めて。普段の練習もメンタル的な意味で、100%の状態でできていなかった。明日に向けて自分を奮い立たせて頑張らないといけないのは、アスリートとして、当たり前なんですけど、すぐにその気持ちはまだなくて」
「でも試合は始まってしまっているので、最後まで乗り切って。先輩（日野）との試合は最後になるかもしれないので、そこはしっかりと感じて、足を引っ張らないように、諦めずにできたらなと思います」
Google translate says:
This is the first time I thought "I want to stop in the middle" during the match. In a mental sense, my usual practice was not done in 100% condition. As an athlete, it's natural for me to inspire myself and do my best for tomorrow, but I don't have that feeling right away. "But the match has already started, so I'll survive to the end. The match with my senior (Hino) may be the last, so I feel it firmly and I can do it without giving up so as not to pull my legs. I think it's a good idea. "
Sota is onto a very good point: He must not let that frustration, negativity, maybe despair, get to him. I think a way of dealing with that is battling on and on, and not giving up. Not more exhausting trainings (definitely not the 4F at this point... why did he start the SP with a F anyway?), but more resilience to competition environment and jump failures.
Call me crazy but during the program, when Sota messed up his last jump part as well, I could feel his frustration and the feeling that he'd like to stop. It was palpable. Or maybe I'm just too invested in this unlucky, brave kid's skating
He's probably thinking right now that he's such a disappointment to the Federation, his coach, and his fans. But I think that most are just keeping their fingers crossed for him, and are hoping for him to stand up again. He did it once, and he can do it again. His fans definitely won't think any less of him because of one botched season.
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One more Sota artcicle, I think it contains one of the quotes above plus some others, like one about his friendship with Ryuju ^ ^
愛知の山本草太（21）が43・38点を記録し、よもやの18位発進となった。取材エリアに姿を見せた山本の表情は険しかった。「練習不足だったり、自分の気持ちの不安… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）
www.nikkansports.com
I'm voluntarily a stone age creature without social media so I only see these photos through retweets, but Kirara, I think you'd appreciate how Sota is always hanging around Kazuki, like here - 
It must be so draining to practice in Chukyo late at night, and then travel home to Osaka! 
