Erica Chavis broke down in tears as she watched her son, Laney School huge receiver Dior Scott, move slowly into the backseat of his black Ford Explorer to sleep for the evening.
It used to be past due July, and Chavis hadn’t recognized till she noticed that scene early within the 5th season of Netflix’s “Remaining Probability U” that Scott used to be homeless for far of his sophomore season with the Eagles. Nearly in an instant, she referred to as Scott and, between sobs, requested him why he had advised her he used to be staying at a pal’s area when he used to be actually crashing in his SUV.
Scott defined that he didn’t wish to concern Chavis, who lives in Arkansas and has 4 different youngsters. Nearly nobody — no longer his circle of relatives, no longer his closest pals, no longer even his teammates — used to be acutely aware of Scott’s residing state of affairs till Season Five of “Remaining Probability U” debuted this summer season and made public probably the most maximum intimate main points of his non-public existence.
“Other folks have proven me not anything however love,” Scott, now a walk-on huge receiver at Hawaii, advised The Chronicle. “Other folks have advised me how they’ve needed to take care of tricky problems, how they needed to take care of stuff with their fathers again within the day.
“It’s been in reality just right to listen to people’s tales and in reality be in contact with them, inform them what’s occurring. I inform them that they’re no longer by myself, and it jogs my memory that I’m no longer by myself.”
The preferred documentary collection about junior school soccer has constructed a name for its glimpses into the lives of deprived avid gamers intent on parlaying a Department I scholarship into a greater existence for his or her households. However in all probability no participant featured on “Remaining Probability U” has captured the hobby of audience greater than Scott (Walker-Scott at the display), who supplied most of the season’s maximum compelling moments.
There Scott used to be washing a pile of dishes at his work-study process that have been intended to were finished by means of different scholars. There he used to be leaving the fast-food chain Wingstop, the place he logged 10 to 20 hours all over the season, to discover a position to park his automobile for the evening and sleep.
There Scott used to be stepping clear of follow drills to take care of a panic assault, which used to be caused by drive he gained from kin to reconcile together with his father. Scott says that his dad beat him with a belt, publicly humiliated him for slight offenses and quashed any likelihood of him getting a faculty scholarship by means of doing away with him from the soccer group at Antioch’s Deer Valley Prime Faculty halfway thru his senior season.
As Scott navigated a couple of jobs, a complete route load and lingering adolescence trauma, he shouldered extra duty at the box. When Laney misplaced 3 quarterbacks to damage early within the season, Scott — a 5-foot-9, 175-pound slot again — moved in the back of heart and led the Eagles to wins in two in their subsequent 3 video games.
“We knew he used to be sofa browsing, however I didn’t know he used to be residing in his automobile up to he used to be,” mentioned Laney head trainer John Beam, whose program can’t be offering student-athletes scholarships or on-campus housing. “For him to open up and percentage that with the arena — no longer simply California, however the entire international — used to be in reality eye-opening to me.”

Remaining fall, when “Remaining Probability U” writer Greg Whiteley requested him to percentage his tale on digicam, Scott used to be reluctant. His state of affairs embarrassed him. However after Whiteley defined that this used to be a possibility to lend a hand others in equivalent instances, Scott supplied whole get admission to into his day by day existence.
Nowadays, greater than a month got rid of from the 5th season’s free up, he calls it “the most efficient determination I ever made.” Psychological well being professionals laud Scott as an recommend. Nearly on a daily basis, he receives messages on social media from folks suffering with anxiousness, homelessness or abusive relationships.
This beef up has given Scott a better sense of objective. Irrespective of what he does shifting ahead, he is aware of a group of well-wishers — a lot of whom he’s by no means met — will apply alongside. An NFL contract, in fact, would simplest enhance his message of perseverance.
However first, Scott should nonetheless earn a faculty scholarship. After completing his sophomore season at Laney with out a full-ride provides, he walked on at Hawaii, the place former Eagles teammate Jared Good is the Rainbow Warriors’ best returning receiver.
Inside of hours of touching down in Honolulu in January, Scott discovered that head trainer Nick Rolovich used to be leaving for Washington State. After in short bearing in mind flying again to the Bay House, Scott made up our minds to stick and play for Rolovich’s alternative, former Arizona State head trainer Todd Graham.
With the 2020 season now canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Scott is including muscle in hopes of cracking Hawaii’s 2021 receiver rotation. Loose time is spent swimming at Sandy Seaside on Oahu’s South Shore and calling his mother.
When Chavis first watched her son on “Remaining Probability U,” she anxious that she’d failed him. However as Scott defined to her all over that telephone name in past due July, “Stuff occurs. I’m happy with you for surviving the whole lot you’ve been thru, and I simply wish to have the similar resilience as you.”
That is why he dropped the “Walker” from “Walker-Scott” when he enrolled at Hawaii. At Laney, Dior simplest went by means of “Walker-Scott” as a result of school recruiters who’d tracked him since highschool knew him as Dior Walker. Going only by means of his mother’s maiden identify provides him a possibility to start out contemporary in a brand new state.
“I think like I’m in any case development my very own legacy,” mentioned Scott, who hasn’t talked to his dad’s facet of the circle of relatives since “Remaining Probability U” launched its 5th season. “I’m developing my very own identify and, guy, it feels just right.”
Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle personnel creator. Electronic mail: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron