Ryan Christie is chasing more at a tournament where Lionel Messi is still setting the standard. Relaxing with his team-mates in their hotel in uptown Charlotte, the Bournemouth and Scotland midfielder watched Messi's show on Tuesday evening, agog like everyone else watching an international footballer turn back into a spectator in those moments of magic.
Tuesday was moving day in America, to an extent. Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria, while Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland each scored doubles as the tournament appeared to find another gear.
When you chill out a bit, you turn back into a spectator.
Watching Messi and stuff like that, it's incredible to watch that happen. It's immense and pretty surreal, to be honest.
When I was younger, I idolised Messi, so to think you're playing on the same kind of stage as him now is pretty cool, especially the age he's at. Watching him do his thing was unbelievable.
For Christie, there was never any thought in his young head that he would reach a stage like this.
Non-existent. I don't know if it sounds bad to say that.
I had aspirations of playing for Scotland when I was growing up - that was my pinnacle - but you didn't ever think further than that. I never, ever envisioned playing at a Euros, never mind the World Cup.
I didn't watch Scotland in a major tournament, so in my head that just wasn't really a possibility at that point - and probably why, all those years down the line, when we had that night in Serbia it hit home so much.
Christie became very emotional in the aftermath of that victory under Steve Clarke, when Scotland qualified for their first Euros.
The tears were because it felt so out of reach for me and a few of the other boys.
So, to be doing this here is incredible. Everybody has that feeling that you're playing on a stage that literally all the eyes across the globe are watching you. You're just desperate to try and make a name for yourself.
Following a cameo appearance off the bench against Haiti, Christie could get the chance to make his mark from the start against Morocco in Boston on Friday at 2300 BST. Scotland are considerable underdogs, though Christie said every underdog can have their day and his team have it within them to prove sticky opponents for Morocco.
At 31, Christie takes confidence from Scotland having gone toe-to-toe with teams that are as good as Morocco in recent years. He is not naive about how brutally hard the match will be and knows Scotland will not dominate possession or limit Morocco to zero chances.
We need to keep those numbers as low as possible and then do our bit when we do get the chance to hurt them.
Christie also believes Scotland can make it hard for Morocco to break them down. Asked if he truly thinks Scotland can win, he replied:
Absolutely. I think we've got to think like that. Especially after the first result against Haiti.
We're trying not to get too ahead of ourselves, but at the same time, you've got to draw confidence from that and ride the wave a little bit.
Christie has just signed a new deal with Bournemouth and will remain at the club until 2029. Messi's exploits at 38, with the Argentine turning 39 this month, offer Christie encouragement that this World Cup does not necessarily have to be his last.
In England, Christie sees players getting better with age, with guys in their mid-30s still operating well at the top level.
Some are pushing for the high-30s and still churning out unbelievable performances week in, week out.
Head coach Clarke has spoken often about the dynamic of starters and finishers as Scotland prepare for Morocco.
