I'm not exactly sure when my fear of waves truly began. Perhaps it was sparked by a single traumatic event—like the enormous wave in Biarritz, France, nearly two decades ago, that slammed me onto the ocean floor and scraped the skin off my chin. More likely, my shift from being fearless to cautious crept up over time. It seems reasonable when you think about the risks the ocean holds—riptides, submerged rocks, sharks, head injuries. But for me, the fear feels more deeply rooted. I suspect