Brothers under the skin?

I'm reading Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I'd recommend it if you like running, or you want to see how to set down simple line after simple line to almost hypnotic effect [I do like running - apart from anything else, you're always fit enough to nick the strike when you need to...]

At one point he writes about a couple of professional athletes who run on the same roads as him every day, 'I felt like we understood each other. Even if the skill level varies, there are things that only runners understand and share. I truly believe that.'

I wondered straight away if that was true of cricketers - and I think it is, as long as you've played to the best of your ability, and maybe tried to get beyond it sometimes. So much about the game is universal: if you're facing a bowler who seems very fast to you, for example, one who is pushing you, maybe scaring you, then it doesn't matter how fast that bowler is to other, better players - the emotions and the physical sensations are the same.

What do you think?