Nearly a week after Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open, we are still left to contemplate what this story is really all about.

Mental health? Tennis? Fame? Media?

The answer is all of the above, to some degree, but mostly mental health. You could even throw some isms in there without too much of a reach: racism, sexism, ageism. It’s as if every contemporary societal issue has intersected through the unlikely conduit of a 23-year-old self-described introvert.

But Osaka isn’t just another young adult. She also happens to be the No. 2 women’s tennis player in the world, and one of the most dynamic young athletes in all of sports. That means what she says and doesn’t say — or even whether she chooses to speak — carries plenty of weight.

So, a net result is elevating public awareness about depression and anxiety. If mental health is an issue for one of the planet’s most famous people it can be for anyone.

Just ask Michelle Obama. If you want to stick to sports, there is Ricky Williams, Michael Phelps, Kevin Love, Serena Williams and plenty of others.

There are many deniers, though, those who seem to think Osaka is trying to pull a fast one on the entire world, faking anxiety because she is a lazy millennial who doesn’t want to deal with press conferences.

But if that were true, why would she do it like this? There are easier ways to deflect or ignore questions from reporters than accepting a $15,000 fine and then withdrawing from a major tournament when you’re at the top of your game.

Easier for most people, that is.

And that’s the crux of it.

Even physical pain thresholds vary from person to person. Anxiety triggers are often harder to identify and quantify.

I get it how a single parent barely getting by with two jobs might not understand why it’s so hard for Osaka to answer questions about her tennis game when it is part of the deal in which she is so richly compensated.

Not all press conferences are useless. But I’ve also been to many that were a complete waste of time for everyone involved. And I have imagined what it would be like if the roles were reversed, and I had to answer the same questions over and over from people who have never done what I do.

Before learning a few things in recent years, I’d snicker any time I heard someone talk about taking a “mental health day,” I just couldn’t comprehend the concept.

When Ricky Williams insisted on keeping his helmet on at all times, including during an interview, I thought it was funny. Now I know he was trying to find a safe spot in a full stadium.

Now I don’t make light of any of this; quite the opposite, actually. Writing about anxiety is giving me anxiety, and that is not a joke. I suffer from it myself, and it’s very difficult to find the right words to describe it.

One of the best ways to manage mental health issues is talking about them with friends, especially if they are struggling, too. I’m lucky to have more than one close confidant.

“It’s hard for people who haven’t been exposed to it before to understand why seemingly harmless things bother you when on the surface everything seems fine,” one of them said. “They tell you, ‘Shake it off, shake it off.’ But it’s not that easy.”

Shake it off … anyone who has ever played sports has heard that one, right?

Sloane Stephens very likely has. She is ranked 59th in the world after peaking at No. 3 following her U.S. Open championship in 2017. Her family has been hit hard by COVID-19, with two grandparents and an aunt dying in recent months.

But her game is gradually getting better, and she advanced to the fourth round of the French Open on Friday. Stephens spoke about mental health issues after Osaka’s withdrawal, emphasizing that there is always hope.

“I think it’s definitely top priority for everyone — not just tennis players, but also you guys who are dealing with life in general,” Stephens said. “It’s going to get better. No one stays in a rut for the rest of their life or the rest of their career. It’s just literally not possible. At some point the tables do turn, the tides turn, and you have to be ready for when that does happen.

“The only thing I can do now is move on and move forward. There’s nothing wrong with having a therapist or two and a grief counselor and all of these things. I have to do what’s best for me and work on myself.”

That sounds like what Naomi Osaka is doing, too. And the ensuing discussion can also help countless others.