The New York Yankees’ hopes of winning a World Series may fall on the arms of whether or not Gerrit Cole can get back to pitching at an elite level before his Tommy John surgery a year ago.

The former Cy Young Winner continues to make solid progress in his recovery from the major procedure, but it’s unlikely he’s on the Opening Day roster.

During a recent interview, Cole shared what has been the most difficult part of his rehab, and it has nothing to do with pitching itself.

“Just the waiting has been the hardest part. The challenge of trying to take it day by day, not look too far ahead, and just kind of keep an even keel demeanor,” said Cole.

Despite the need to be patient between workouts, Cole continues to check the boxes in his rehab. His latest milestone was throwing 30 pitches in a two-inning simulated game on Friday. The Yankees ace had his fastball top out at 97.5 mph in this workout.