Ryan Joyce has taken a realistic look at his future on the PDC ProTour, admitting that for the first time he is seriously considering a plan B. The 40-year-old Englishman, currently world number 26, has struggled for consistency this season, with his best result being a quarterfinal at the Belgium Darts Open. In the first ten Players Championship events, Joyce never got past the third round, and he suffered early exits at both the PDC World Darts Championship (second round) and the World Masters.
Speaking to Sawyer Darts, Joyce reflected on his career trajectory: “I’ve never really thought about that before. I have always been determined to make it in darts. Now that I am older and I have had a few bad weeks on the tour, I feel like I could be closer to the end of my career than I think.” He acknowledged the possibility of losing his Tour Card in the coming years and having to find alternative income. “I have started to think about what I can do if I lose my Tour Card in the next couple of years and have to do something else. I will still only be in my early 40s. I will have to do something else to make money, wouldn’t I.”
While his plans are not concrete, Joyce sees potential opportunities through his network. “I would probably ask friends or my dart manager, who has got his own businesses and things. I could probably get a job helping him. It would not be anything exciting. I haven’t got hidden qualifications for a job or anything like that.”
On a positive note, Joyce has conquered his fear of flying, which had previously hindered his career. “I was going nowhere in the rankings, not playing the Euro Tours, it was ridiculous. As soon as I conquered the fear, I moved up quite a few places.” Thanks to his position on the ProTour Order of Merit, he now automatically qualifies for all European Tour events. “So, I have to go to all of them. Now that I automatically qualify, I need to win a game to get it on the rankings.”
Joyce explained his new coping mechanism: “I don’t like sudden movements and I like my feet on the ground. I don’t like travelling fast. It was different things like that which made me feel really nervous. Now when I get on a plane, I have researched how planes work. I have watched so many videos of pilots talking about exactly what happens and why a plane feels like it does at certain times. I have done all the research and I have some noise-cancelling headphones now. I have programmed my phone with music. I just put my headphones on and concentrate on my phone — no problems. The last 12–18 months have been much better.”
