wasting a lot of time and breath

[keannu]

Is the hidden meaning of "breath" here "speaking, words"?

mo28)Sometimes athletes need to be allowed to practice their skills on their own before they receive feedback. That way they can determine what is working and what isn’t and can become more ①mindful of their strengths and weaknesses. If you attempt to provide assistance when athletes would prefer to practice on their own, you may be ②wasting a lot of time and breath. When athletes realize that their best efforts are producing ③satisfactory outcomes, they are usually more motivated to hear what you have to say. In other words, athletes are responsive to assistance when they fail to achieve the outcome they were hoping for. A coach’s challenge, then, is to remain patient until these and other types of ④teachable moments arise. The reward for such ⑤patience is athletes who are motivated to hear what you have to say and eager to incorporate your suggestions.

[emsr2d2]

When we say "Don't waste your breath", we mean "Don't bother saying anything, it's not worth the breath that you will use expelling the words from your mouth".

If I keep saying to a child "Don't stick your finger in that electric plug socket" and the child keeps sticking its finger in the socket, I would probably give up and say "I'm wasting my breath. S*d it. Let him electrocute himself!"

[BobK]

There is a saying - 'Save your breath to cool your porridge' (I don't know how widespread this is. My grandfather, who used it a lot, was Scottish). The 'porridge' part suggests actual breath, but the saying means 'Shut up'.

b