In a black frame hung the famed "Man In The Arena" speech that President Theodore Roosevelt gave in 1910. For the much-maligned Trubisky, those words remind him of the challenge of overcoming critics and prospering.
"At the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat," Roosevelt said at the close of his speech.
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With the new regular season less than three months away, Trubisky now faces the task of maintaining his place as the Bears' quarterback. He has been unchallenged as the starter since September 2017, which marked his rookie season.
"I still feel like this is my team," Trubisky said Friday in his first media session with local reporters since late December.
"It's good to be pissed off a little."
With Halas Hall still shuttered to Bears players, Trubisky has organized private workouts in Chicago-area parks. He has assembled teammates still in the area and brought them out to stay active, work on the route trees and make up for lost time on the practice field.
The group has included Trubisky, receiver Allen Robinson, running back David Montgomery, running back Tarik Cohen, tight end Demetrius Harris and tight end Cole Kmet.
"What I've seen (is) work ethic, man," Harris said. "Just trying to get on the same page as me and the other guys, really trying to hit the ground running. We all fighting for something. Every day we get together, we work hard."
Added Cohen: "Mitch is a guy that’s not going to waver."
Trubisky believes that the limited on-field work this offseason offers him an advantage against Foles. After all, he's the incumbent coming into the competition, and Foles is the newcomer.
But the competition will be decided by which quarterback performs the best, which Trubisky acknowledged. It's why he reassessed the film from the disappointing 2019 campaign, worked toward getting physically and mentally refreshed and prepared to attack the competition.
The Bears declined Trubisky's fifth-year option for 2021, meaning he's not just looking to earn the starting job in 2020. He's also fighting to secure a future in Chicago beyond this year.
"It wasn’t really a big surprise to me," Trubisky said of that decision. "Because I kind of felt like I had it coming. I put myself in their shoes -- if I was looking at myself, I feel like I would have to go out and earn that fifth option. I feel like the way I played last year didn’t merit that. I wasn’t that all surprised.
"My plan is just to go out there and earn my next contract, wherever that is. I want it to be here in Chicago. I’m going to play my heart and soul out for this team and give it everything I've got.
"All I can do is control what I can control this year, and that's go out and try to have a hell of a year with my teammates. I love these guys to death and I'm excited about this year."