He had to train. David Duchovny’s swimming pool was out there.

Along with the rest of the world, athletes have ended their careers due to the coronavirus pandemic. They give The New York Times an intimate look at their travels in periodic installments throughout the rest of the year. Read Garcia-Tolson’s initial installations here en over here.

It was the weekend after the Fourth of July and Rudy Garcia-Tolson was still looking for a place to swim in Southern California. With all the public swimming pools close to his home closed, his attempt to get from the age of 31 to three years old and form a fifth Paralympic team from the United States was firmly in first gear.

He had started swimming and surfing in the ocean, a lot of fun and a tough workout, but hardly the best way to prepare for elite competition in the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-meter breaststroke.

Then Garcia-Tolson’s phone rang when he was notified of an Instagram message. David Duchovny, best known for playing Special Agent Fox Mulder on TV’s X-Files, was reachable. Duchovny, a fellow swimmer and triathlete, had read the article in The New York Times and described Garcia-Tolson’s efforts to find a train spot. The actor had an idea.

This interview is condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

I was still trying to find a pool when I got one of the big messages of my life. It was from a woman who said she worked with actor David Duchovny, and told me to get in touch with her about finding a pool to work out in. She gave me his number and told me to reach out. When I did, he told me he had a 25-foot swimming pool with one lane in his backyard. I was welcome to use it whenever I wanted. I just need to give him up a little bit.

The funny thing is, I actually met David at the Malibu Triathlon when I was a kid. I was there with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. He did not know that when I told him that, but then I showed him a picture of us, and then he did it all. How crazy is it that I met this guy like 20 years ago and am now training in his pool?

So far I have gone about 12 times. I text him, tell him when I’ll be there. I park in his driveway, next to the garage. I go straight to the pool.

The first times we talk something. Now it is less and less. I discover the pool, take out my equipment, and within five minutes I jump inside. I do my 90-minute, or maybe a two-hour workout and I’m ready. It’s pretty nice.

The first few days I was in awe that I was in Malibu, by a public swimming pool. After I got over that, I was able to get into my zone.

It’s now my fourth week. I feel tired and hurt, but it’s the good kind of tiredness and pain that I really missed and enjoyed. I skip my intervals and go fast, and feel good again.

After being eliminated for three and a half years in principle, it is not easy. All my workouts are between 4,500 and 6,000 meters, but the surprising thing for me is that I am alone and mentally I am able to stay in it.

Usually when you train, you can kick your teammates, you have a coach screaming at you, the bells are right there for you. Being alone is very easy to zone out and forget the attempt, and I do not.

How do I know that? There’s a little digital clock next to the side of the pool. Everything I do is based on the clock. I can see myself getting better at my intervals. I will try to do 10 sets of 100 meters, starting again every 90 seconds. I can hit the first three or four already at 1:15 or 1:20. Then I start to fall off.

I also do longer sets. I did 10 intervals of 400 meters, each starting every six and a half minutes.

I have a routine. On the odd number I get in at 5:40 or 5:50. On the even numbers, I hook a pull buoy, which lifts my hips, or my hand pads, which force me to ride more water, than my snorkel, so I don’t have to break to breathe. I also use my fin sometimes so I can kick with my abs, and use the parachute, which slows me down and makes me focus on my arms.

For these first few months, the focus has been to stay consistent and put in yardage. I walk about 20,000 meters a week, which is about half of what I would have done if I had not taken off most of the last three years.

But I need to understand and accept the process of rebuilding. I have to reach the Paralympic standards by January and be ready for less than a year. I can not afford to get injured. I do not have the time.

My original plan was now in Colorado training. But since I have access to this pool and we have no idea what will happen to the virus rates, I will put that back a month.

I live in my children’s bedroom in Bloomington, California, but now I have no urge to leave. I get a scholarship as an ambassador at the Challenged Athletes Foundation. If I can make the national team again, I’m eligible for a little money, that helps.

I might be able to spot some talking engagements, but I’m too late for this Olympic cycle and most sponsors are doing something else.

It will be a financially difficult year. I know that. I’m not very good with money and finances. I have not saved my entire life and once I go to Colorado I will have to pay for my own place, even if I ended up swimming at the Olympic Training Center.

For now, I will continue to do what I do. I have so much more experience. It will come. It’s a process. In two weeks I will stamp the workout a maximum of five or six times a week.

I have so much more perspective now. I really do this for myself. I have not had contact with a coach. That’s good. There is nothing to talk about at this time.