The more the Los Angeles Lakers won during the "Showtime" era, the bigger coach Pat Riley's ego seemed to become. Today's Riley, however, seems to be quite humble and appreciating life more off the court with the struggling Miami Heat.

"At the beginning, I was running by the seat of my pants," said Riley, 57, who coached the Lakers to four NBA titles from 1981 to '90. "I was a very ambitious young coach who was full of himself and thought he was better than he was. I had all these great players. You realize when you get older that coaching is an art. The teaching. There is a lot of things that go into it every day that has to be taught outright."

	These are trying times for Pat Riley and his lowly Miami Heat.

"Now, I really try to be a teacher and get past the personal stuff about the results and the consequences and what they think now about how the guy who has won all his life is losing now," he added. "I don't think of it in those terms. I just try to get this team to be a better basketball team."

Although Riley's days with the Lakers ended in 1990, the winning didn't stop.

During four seasons with the New York Knicks, they went to the playoffs each season and advanced to the 1994 NBA Finals. The three-time NBA Coach of the Year is also the winningest coach in Heat history, is closing in on 1,100 wins and is destined for the Hall of Fame. He is now the NBA's second winningest coach behind Lenny Wilkens.

"The record will always sort of speak for itself when it comes to the end for coaches," said Riley, who is not considering retirement. "I've had a great run. I've had great teams and great players. I've had rings and all that stuff."

Riley has been blessed with such NBA great centers as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Los Angeles, Patrick Ewing with New York and Alonzo Mourning with Miami. Abdul-Jabbar brought Riley four championship rings while Ewing came close on another. During the 2000-01 season, it looked like it was Mourning's turn to deliver as he had a new cast of teammates in Eddie Jones and Brian Grant mixed in with himself and Tim Hardaway.

But the Heat's championship dreams changed to an emphasis on prayers as a kidney illness put Mourning's life in jeopardy. Potential 2001 NBA title hopes were dashed after Mourning missed the first 69 games of the season before Miami failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

With Mourning not a full strength last season, Miami finished with a 36-46 record and did not make the postseason. Now in he final year of his contract, it is unknown whether Mourning will suit up this season. What is known is the Heat are far from the Eastern Conference power that they used to be.

"It's been three years of knowing Zo was in or out because of his condition," Riley said. "The first year we missed (69) games. The last year, he played for us and we missed the playoffs for the first time. He was probably playing at 60 or 70 percent of what he was capable of. And this year, he just couldn't play."

	“	I missed a lot of my life because basketball was always in the way of everything: family, fun, concerts and trips. It was always in the way in a very preoccupying way. When your life passes you by and you see your children grow up, you miss so much because you gave so much of your mind and spiritual thought to the game. You wish you could do it over again. ”
		— Pat Riley

"I don't know (if he will return)," Riley added. "After three years I just want Zo to get healthy and have a healthy life. This year, he is going to make some decisions on what his future is going to be. But we're moving forward with rebuilding and we just have to go down that road."

Riley is also moving forward on coming to grips with an unfamiliar reality: losing.

For a fierce competitor like Riley, losing definitely isn't easy to accept. But if there was ever a point in his career where he had to deal with lackluster results on a nightly basis, now is probably the best time.

"I have a lot of experience now," Riley said. "It doesn't eat at me now. I'm more objective now. The result every single night is not going to be favorable. But you have to develop a game where you have to strive to keep getting better at it. Some nights you're not going to be very good and you're going to take your losses. But as long as you keep getting effort from the players, intensity and the attitude that they can get better, I think you can deal with that."

While Riley is one of the greatest coaches in sports history, he has had to make numerous personal sacrifices to earn that distinction. He has lost valuable time with wife, Chris, and children, James (17) and Elisabeth (13), during his 20 seasons as a head coach. But of late, Riley has made a more concerted effort to smell the roses and not just the hardwood.

"I missed a lot of my life because basketball was always in the way of everything: family, fun, concerts and trips," Riley said. "It was always in the way in a very preoccupying way. When your life passes you by and you see your children grow up, you miss so much because you gave so much of your mind and spiritual thought to the game. You wish you could do it over again.

"At least now, I have more balance in terms of that. I don't let the game get in the way of a better life."

Marc J. Spears, who covers the Denver Nuggets for the Denver Post, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.