Well, that's pretty darn condescending of you.
Do you recall we're discussing college students that play basketball, not professional athletes? Student-athletes have all the pressure of any other college kid - classes, exams, family expectations, peer pressure - plus the pressure of playing for an elite basketball team where there are more expectations and peer pressure, all played out on national TV. Fans don't help, either their own fans or fans of other teams that pass judgement on them and heap scorn on them for their perceived weaknesses.
How the student-athletes handle all the pressure and expectations depends largely on their personalities, just like any other human being. I'm sure you know people at work who laugh off impossible assignments with short deadlines while others are popping tranquilizers. Kids, too, will vary in their responses to pressure.
BTW, plenty of 30, 40, and 50 year olds buckle under every day pressure too, and yes, there are people those ages serving our country as well. Does that make the civilians lesser?