Since returning to WWE in 2022 at WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes has worked 75 matches, nine on a Premium Live Event, 16 on television, and 40 more on house shows at various arenas across the United States, Europe, and beyond – a fact made all the more impressive when you consider he was out of action for the back half of 2022 with a torn pec.

That's a lot, right? Especially for a performer who has also attempted to audition for movies, runs a professional wrestling school, and has a burgeoning family with his wife Brandi and daughter Liberty? How on earth does Rhodes keep it all together and remain a strong performer inside the ring and a present person outside of it? Well, the “American Nightmare” was asked that very question in an interview with Keyshawn, JWill, & Max on ESPN Radio and explained how he attempts to keep everything in perspective.

“The schedule can be very daunting. It's a gig that you have to really, really love and your family too. You, if you're someone who has a family like myself, my wife, and my daughter, that love has to, everyone has to know about passion and sacrifice,” Cody Rhodes said via Wrestling News. “I am very lucky in the sense that I have my own tour bus, and that's where I'm comfortable right now. I am very lucky because after ten years of driving all over the roads with four wrestlers in a car, screaming at each other, trying to get food at two in the morning, I'm very lucky that I'm in this position. It's tough, but I'll say this: the tradeoff for what we do is so worth it. You know, WWE every city lately is, and one out after another, and there's been this really special thing that's happening with our product, which is always popular, but right now it's even on a different level. So that's the trade-off. Tonight. I could be as tired and grumpy as possible. The body may be a little banged up. Brock Lesner threw me all around last week. But still, like, you walk out in front of these, these, these crowds, and you can't just be rejuvenated. It's amazing. So for me, it's a great trade, and you're part of royalty because your dad is the legendary dog.”

Glossing over the fact that Rhodes, ever the showman, opted to throw in a little something something about his current feud with Brock Lesnar to presumably drum up Peacock subscriptions ahead of SummerSlam, you have to give it to the 38-year-old, he's doing his best to keep things going and thus far has been very successful at it, even if he would certainly like to come out to the ring each week with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Cody Rhodes is proud of WWE's involvement with Make-A-Wish.

Elsewhere in his conversation with Keyshawn, JWill, & Max, Cody Rhodes discussed WWE's involvement with the Make-A-Wish foundation and specifically tipped his hat to John Cena, who has answered more wishes than anyone else in the program's history. After working for a promotion that catered more to hardcore wrestling fans, Rhodes appreciates the responsibility of being a hero to young kids the world over.

“What WWE does with Make-A-Wish and the efforts that are made in terms of not just a specific superstar meeting a young kid, it's the whole group. WWE pretty much involves everyone. It's kind of this whole gauntlet of you meet this guy, you meet this guy, you do this, you do that, and then you get to meet your superstar. I am honored to be part of that. What John (Cena) has done in terms of number of wishes, surpassing even Michael Jordan, is absolutely surreal. To even be in the same air and the same conversation is really special because it's not, you know, we list all those titles and all that wonderful stuff. You guys know the real stuff is something like what John has done in terms of Make-A-Wish and having a lasting impact and being able to do something special. So it's just an honor to be part of that group.”

Firmly entrenched as the sort of John Cena, Hulk Hogan, red, white, and blue babyface that has dominated the history of The Fed since Vince McMahon purchased the company from his father, Rhodes knows that he holds a special place in the entertainment world where he's both tasked with catering to the fans who watched him smash Andrade into a flaming table with a reverse DDT and to kids who have a potentially terminal illness who want a hero to look up to. So far, he's done a very good job straddling that line.