Video: Caitlin Clark Talks Mental Health Before Game vs. Angel Reese, Carter, Sky

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark reflected on how she has "had to grow up pretty fast" in her first season in the WNBA.

"I'm only 22 years old," she told reporters ahead of Indiana's game against the Chicago Sky. "I feel younger than that at times and I'm trying to navigate moving to a new city by myself. I'm trying to navigate playing in a new league on top of everything else that has come with it."

Clark emphasized the broad importance of focusing on your own mental health and said it's critical to reach out for help when needed.

"I can't accomplish everything in my life," she said. "I'm not afraid to ask for help and tell people, 'You know, today's just not my day,' and that's OK. Not every day has to be perfect."

Tennis legend Serena Williams was a young prodigy who faced undue criticism throughout her career. She offered her own guidance to Clark.

"I love that she tries to stay grounded," Williams said. "She says she doesn't look at her social [media]. I get it. I don't either. I think it's so important to just continue to do what she's doing. No matter what other people do. If people are negative, it's because they can't do what you do. Hopefully she'll continue to do what she's doing."

Going from college to the pros is always a challenge under normal circumstances. There has been nothing normal about Clark's introduction to the WNBA.

The No. 1 overall pick has to shoulder a heavy burden with people expecting her to lift up the league and women's basketball as a whole. She was being framed as a transcendent figure before she ever stepped onto the court with the Fever.

Clark has also become a figure in wider culture wars through no real fault of her own.

If almost any other player were on the receiving end of the flagrant foul by the Sky's Chennedy Carter, it would've gone almost entirely unnoticed. An even worse foul by Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas on Chicago rookie Angel Reese didn't warrant days of discourse.

In the case of Clark and Carter, the incident was scrutinized six ways from Sunday and led to Carter receiving comments that crossed a clear line.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Clark initially said that people using her to drive larger narratives is "not something I can control" and insisted she wanted to focus on basketball. For some, it came off as tone-deaf.

She followed up later in the day to clarify her remarks.

"People should not be using my name to push those agendas," she told reporters. "It's disappointing. It's not acceptable. ... Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it's just a basic human thing that everybody should do."

On and off the court, Clark has received a crash course in what it's like to be a star athlete outside of a college bubble.