A player working on defense on their own is just as rare as a player putting in their own individual conditioning work. Doing the un- glamorous, but necessary, stuff is what separates you from other players who may be close to you skill-wise. When a coach has to decide between two equally filled players, the coach chooses the better defender, of the player that puts forth the most effort - those traits are synonymous. There are usually one or two do-what-you-like scorers on every team -- if you’re not one of them, what can you bring to the table?