Belmont Abbey coach Chris Barrett hit the road for what had been a normal 45-minute trip to campus, but nothing about the last two weeks has felt familiar.

He cruised down an empty road — normally buzzing with cars — and arrived at a barren campus. The only cars that remained in the staff parking lot were those of custodians and other essential staff. He made the turn toward the athletic facilities, where there were no vehicles to be found.

He entered the locked athletic facility, and it instantly felt different than the one he left just weeks earlier. So much had happened since the cancellation of the Crusaders’ 2020 season.

“It’s the cleanest I’ve ever seen this building in the nine years,” Barrett said. “I almost felt bad walking in here with my shoes on. I feel like I’m going to my mom’s house again, and I have to make sure I take my shoes off before going on the carpet.”

He walked into the men’s lacrosse locker room and was hit by the scent of bleach and cleaning supplies. The floors had been steamed cleaned to prevent the spread of coronavirus on campus. The room was as clean as it had been when the team first took it over, but reminders of the season recently cut short were all around.

Equipment still lined the players’ lockers. Since the cancelation coincided with spring break, many players had not returned to campus to collect their things. He turned and looked at the whiteboard hanging on the wall.

The words, “I love you guys,” covered the whiteboard.

Barrett came to pick up what he could from the locker room, and he left with a greater appreciation for the team that finished the season at 7-0. Belmont Abbey might have been headed for the greatest season in program history, but it will have to cope with the what-ifs that come with the cancellation of a promising start.

As he stood in the locker room and looked out upon the practice field, which had filled in nicely after heavy rain had made it difficult to play on, Barrett reflected on what was lost.

“We got through all that mess and now [the field] is beautiful,” he said. “It’s a living nightmare, that’s what it is.

“We were 7-0, and we still hadn’t even played our best game,” he continued. “These guys knew that we had so much more to give and so much more to come. You just never thought it was going to end this way.”

Barrett has seen his program progress over the past nine seasons, going from a Division II afterthought to one of the most consistent teams in the nation. Belmont Abbey had beaten four straight ranked teams (Florida Southern, Lenoir-Rhyne, Rollins and Indianapolis) leading up to March 12.

The Crusaders were one of the hottest teams in Division II, taking down an Indianapolis team that beat them in the Elite 8 last year. Barrett had already told his team not to overlook the next opponent, North Greenville, when news started trickling out about the cancellation of NCAA championships.

Belmont Abbey players were supposed to stay on campus during spring break, but instead were instructed to go home and return for, hopefully, some length of the lacrosse season. But as the week continued, it became apparent that the season was over, and that players were to remain sheltered.

“I never even had a true opportunity to say goodbye to this team, wishing my seniors luck and everything,” Barrett said.

And despite the NCAA decision to allow players an extra year of eligibility, Barrett said he’s not confident he will welcome back most of that senior class, although he agrees with the decision.

“We’re a small Division II school. We don’t have grad school,” he said. “All my seniors were on pace to graduate. I didn’t want to approach them last week because everyone was just trying to figure out how to get safe and get toilet paper.”

Instead of preparing for the rest of the season, Barrett had to make sure his team was safe. Canadian players headed home out of caution that the borders could be closed, while others headed back home in the United States. By Barrett’s count, just six players lived in the area.

This week, he was preparing a letter to send to his team — stressing how proud he was of their accomplishments and stressing that there’s work still to be done in the virtual classroom. He knows he may lose most of his senior class, but he’s focusing on what he can control.

Belmont Abbey has been through plenty so far this year — sophomore Collin Case lost his father, Jim, the legendary Cornell athletic trainer, on March 14 — but it will look to the 7-0 record as an accomplishment worth celebrating.

Although the team won’t get to see how 2020 could have ended, Barrett said players still routinely reach out to each other for support. The bonds won’t be broken any time soon, as evidenced by the note on the locker room whiteboard.

“[The sign] put a smile on my face when I haven’t had a lot of smile about,” Barrett said. “It just reaffirms my feeling on how close the guys were. These guys were a family. People ask me all the time, ‘Coach, how many kids you have?’ I say I have two at home and a ton on campus.”