Actually, it sounds as if a mother is training a son to be afraid of competition and sport, and perhaps it would be a good thing for her to crouch deeper into a foxhole.
My sons have seen things/been places that many people will never see in their lifetimes when we backpack; it certainly isn’t about that. They play soccer (which is competition), but there is no reason for them to think US football is any more a sport than Wrestlemania.