“You’re having to navigate a system that doesn’t believe you, doesn’t — Nicole Malachowski

"People like you don’t become Thunderbird pilots.”"

"I now know that your job shouldn’t be your identity. Boom, I go from this elite, high-performing person, physically and mentally, to just being completely broken overnight. I’m this independent confident type A fighter pilot, and now I can’t even go to the restroom by myself or bathe by myself—overnight,”"

"You build trust by being trustworthy,” “Avoid the idea of, ‘That guy needs to prove I can trust him.’ Trust never comes to you; trust emanates outward to a team from your behaviors.”"

"“It was the unconscious bias,” she said. “What was coming out were the cultural paradigms of the U.S. Air Force at that time, and the expectations about what I should or should not be doing. I removed that application and said, ‘You’re right, I’m so sorry for bothering you.’”"

"The Thunderbirds taught me nothing of significance is ever accomplished alone,” she says, recounting the time she tried and failed, multiple times, to master an extremely difficult air show maneuver requiring the jets to move from diamond formation into trail formation, putting the wing tips within inches of one another. Ultimately, getting it right required her to take a deep breath and admit to her teammates: “I need help.”"

"Blue skies and tailwinds are the best weather you can get,”"