Last week, Dak Prescott said, “The urgency was there, but now as (the roster and coaching staff have) turned over, I realize I might blink and my career might be over. … The urgency is now.” Do you think that kind of self-awareness will really bring some kind of greater commitment from Dak (if that’s possible), or will he perhaps feel even more pressure to succeed?– Wyatt Johnson/Phoenix, AZ

Patrik: Yes, to both questions. I believe it’s impossible to fathom Prescott finding a way to be that much more committed and motivated to the Cowboys hoisting a Super Bowl trophy, but Time tends to create them. Prescott is not only seeing another round of sweeping changes to come, but this latest round is really hitting home for him. The release of Ezekiel Elliott, his best friend and one who joined the Cowboys in the same season (2016), serves as a powerful reminder that nothing lasts forever in this league and that’s why winning it all when the window is open is so paramount. That’s because once it closes, it may not re-open until the next generation (or the one after that), but probably never again for the current one. The first wake-up call was the change from Jason Garrett to Mike McCarthy, and now it’s McCarthy calling the plays instead of Kellen Moore, with Elliott set to run out of somebody else’s locker room in 2023. Prescott is entering Year 8 and though he may not feel like it physically, he knows the horizon is now closer to him than it’s ever been in the past, and the reality is this is all a race against Time.