ASHBURN, Va. — Nick Cross was born in Bowie, Md. He played high school football at DeMatha Catholic High School in nearby Hyattsville. His college ball came at the University of Maryland, just around the corner.So when Cross became a free agent this spring, and the Washington Commanders had an opening at safety and a contract offer for Cross, it was a no-brainer, right?Play your home games in the same county where you were born, raised and played your high school and college careers? Anyone would sign up, it would seem.“You want to go where you can play and put your skills on display,” Cross said. “You want to go where you’re going to have an opportunity, and where you think you can win. That’s all that matters for me in football — put my skills on display, and go out there and do my thing.”Which brings us to one of the most discussed people at Commanders’ training camp who actually isn’t at Commanders’ training camp. (No, not Brandon Aiyuk. Let’s put him and his high-Instagram rate to the side for a while.)That would be Stefon Diggs. The veteran receiver grew up in Gaithersburg, Md., a short drive from Washington. He went to Good Counsel High in nearby Olney. He, too, played collegiately at Maryland.Three pro athletes have the same favorite mental adviceElise DevlinHe’s a free agent. The conventional wisdom — outside team headquarters here, at least — is that the Commanders need more talent and depth at wide receiver. Diggs is coming off an 85-catch, 1,013-yard season with New England — his seventh 1,000-yard campaign in the last eight years.Shouldn’t a homecoming be a layup?“It’s not always that simple,” said Tim Settle Jr., a Commanders’ defensive tackle now, a lineman growing up at what’s now known as Unity Reed High School in Manassas, Va.Here’s the thing: The idea of professional athletes playing at home seems ideal. In practice, it can be tough. Home might be where your closest and oldest friends are. But home can be where the hangers-on are, too.“If they can reach me,” Settle said, smiling. “You got to be smart about it.”Settle was drafted by Washington out of Virginia Tech in 2018. He left as a free agent for Buffalo in 2022, and returned to Washington this offseason after two more seasons in Houston. He knows what it’s like to build a professional life in surroundings both completely familiar and absolutely foreign.“I got my fanbases out here,” Settle said. “I’m more recognized here. It’s just a familiarity with the area, and people are familiar with me. I know when I go somewhere, I got higher praise here than I would in, like, Texas.“I could stay at my grandma’s house tonight if I wanted to. I wouldn’t even have to ask.”Those are the benefits, and they’re obvious.“It’s good to be around my mom, my dad,” said Cross, who understands that getting around Beltway traffic from Ashburn to Bowie isn’t like living across the street. “But there are drawbacks to anywhere you play.”There are some examples of drawbacks in Washington’s recent past. Chase Young played collegiately at Ohio State, but he grew up in Prince George’s County, Md., and played at St. Vincent Pallotti High School before transferring to DeMatha. When Washington made him the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, it seemed a perfect hit — a hometown kid returning to help resurrect the team for which he grew up rooting.It didn’t work out. That’s in part because then-head coach Ron Rivera and his staff proved overmatched in assembling a roster and coaching it up. But it says here that Young didn’t benefit from playing near home.Take October of 2023, by which time Young had missed time after blowing out his knee and had underproduced when he was on the field. On the afternoon “Grant and Danny” radio show on 106.7 The Fan, co-host Grant Paulsen used some time to do what radio hosts do: break down numbers and discuss performance. It’s OK to fairly criticize these players. That’s the job. Let’s take some calls.Well, darned if the station phone didn’t ring, and damned if it wasn’t Greg Young — Chase’s dad — on the other end.“Do you have the numbers of how much he’s double- and triple-teamed compared to the other guys?” Greg Young challenged Paulsen.And off they went. Greg Young cited some statistics to try to defend his kid. Paulsen pushed back on those numbers. Entertaining and unexpected stuff.The point isn’t whether Greg Young was right or wrong. (For clarification, he was wrong.) The point is a grown man being paid millions of dollars to perform professionally doesn’t need his parents driving around in cars listening to radio criticism and then calling the station in their defense. It’s not healthy.Sure, that’s an extreme example. But it’s cautionary. Home is where the heart is? Fine. It isn’t always the best place to develop professionally.“There’s a lot to consider when you’re making a choice,” Cross said. “But the fit and the opportunity have to be what’s most important.”Which brings us back to Diggs. Forget where he grew up. Wouldn’t the fit and opportunity be perfect in Washington? Through the first four workouts of training camp, the Commanders have put some combination of Treylon Burks, Van Jefferson and Luke McCaffrey alongside top wideout Terry McLaurin with the first-team offense. Total catches in 2025 for that group: 50. Or 35 fewer than Diggs had on his own.The Commanders, a person with knowledge of the situation said, are keeping tabs on Diggs. Diggs, who occasionally worked out at the Maryland facility this summer, appears content to see if he can land a two-year deal even as he turns 33 in November.So the dance goes on. Cross signed with his hometown team this offseason, but not because it was his hometown team. Somewhere out there, Diggs is hoping he has options. Maybe one will be his hometown team. That could be a plus — or not.“There’s way more to think about,” Cross said.