Hi everyone, this is Kate Snow. I'm so excited to share this conversation with Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps. He has, of course, won gold for Team USA so many times. And he told me it's partly because he always dreamed really big, even when he was a young kid just getting into the sport. He also spoke candidly with me about his struggles with mental health,

particularly right now during this pandemic.

The interview is part of my series,

The Drink with Kate Snow.

You'll find other conversations

with people at the top of their game

at NBCNews.com slash the drink.

When did you set that goal for yourself

that I'm going to do something

nobody else has ever done?

I mean, probably 11, 12. I mean, it was early.

But I mean, you know, I think like for me as a kid, like I just wasn't afraid to dream as big as I possibly could.

I see you have a coffee. That is good.

I also have, I have decaf, a giant look of decaf.

How are you doing today?

I would say better today than I have been.

You know, I think one of the scariest parts and times through my life has probably really been over the last six months, you know, kind of all this unknown.

Now with a heavy toll, this crisis is taking, affecting the mental health of Americans.

The pandemic. It's been hard for everyone, but you wrote about how difficult it's been for you.

I mean, I felt like I've almost been like in the corner just hiding for a few days just because it's been for you. I mean, I felt like I've almost been like in the corner

just hiding for a few days just because it's been difficult, scary, but real. And, you know,

I think the biggest difference for me is being able to understand that it's okay to talk about

...