(NEXSTAR) - Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby is competing in Italy this week, marking a shift in her career as she prioritizes personal enjoyment and family over medal records. The mother of two said her primary goal for these games is to remain present during the competition. Huckaby, who has previously balanced a top-tier athletic career with motherhood, described the current games as a culmination of significant sacrifice for her family. While she previously focused on breaking the gold medal record in Para snowboarding, she now views the event as a platform to demonstrate the capabilities of the disability community. Huckaby said she feels more present than she anticipated during her return to competition. "I just feel lighter and like present and just taking it all in," Huckaby said. "And I have been working really hard to be in a place to do that. And I feel like it's coming together." For Huckaby, the definition of success has changed since her previous appearances at the Winter Summit and World Cup events. She emphasized that having her family in Italy represents a victory regardless of the final standings. "I mean, I keep saying, "No matter what, I've already won,'" Huckaby said. "My gold medal is crossing that finish line and having my family there with me, because we've all sacrificed so much for me to be here." Before racing, Huckaby said she uses a visualization technique where she looks at the horizon to gain perspective. She explained that the importance of her participation extends beyond individual achievement to the broader community of people with disabilities. "I think what we do is really important because it is showing people with disabilities what we're capable of," Huckaby said. "It's showing people without disabilities what people with disabilities are capable of." She added that "showing up for our community is the most important thing. And we're doing that and I'm just soaking it all in." Earlier in her training, Huckaby had set a goal to break the record for gold medals in Para snowboarding. However, since January, she said that she realized that pursuing a record was less exciting than enjoying the sport itself. "What I want is to just be in the moment and have so much frickin' fun," Huckaby said. "And like, I have nothing to prove. I have nothing to prove to the world and to myself, and I just wanna be in the moment." Huckaby is also sharing this perspective with her teammates, particularly those competing in their first Paralympics. She noted that in her first games, she was too focused on outcomes, and in her second, she was focused on proving that outcomes did not matter. "So go experience it, be in it," Huckaby said of the advice she gives to her teammates. "And that's what I'm trying to do, too." Beyond her own performance, Huckaby advocated for greater recognition of all Paralympic athletes. She described them as individuals who have tested the limits of human capacity following challenging life events. "I think Paralympic athletes are underrated," Huckaby said. "So many of us have such incredible stories of resilience, and we've gone through some really challenging things.... So please watch the Paralympics." All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by Nexstar. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by Nexstar staff before being published