KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At times to a certain furious excess over the years, Travis Kelce’s sheer passion has been as much a pillar of his Pro Football Hall of Fame-bound career as his hands, swiveling hips, sense of the field and chemistry with Alex Smith and, especially, Patrick Mahomes.

But self-awareness about how emotional he can be, it turns out, was pivotal in the weeks after the Philadelphia Eagles dissected the Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX and Kelce was mulling retirement.

Torn up over his own regrettable performance, acutely conscious of the cumulative toll on his 35-year-old body, Kelce came off as somewhere between deeply conflicted and trying to convince himself to return during his “New Heights” podcast days after the game.

“If I do come back” was the phrase that reverberated that day. So did this self-assessment:

“As you see yourself or not feel yourself have the success that you once used to have, man, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said then. “And then on top of that, to not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you, man … It’s just a tough reality.”

Even as he vented, though, Kelce understood he didn’t want to make such a momentous decision while still in the throes of the defeat he ultimately couldn’t bear to make his last game.

“You want to let the emotions die down,” Kelce said Wednesday as the Chiefs prepared to finish their offseason training program.

In his first interview with local media since he announced in March via the podcast that he was coming back for a 13th season, Kelce said the choice was clear, once his head was.

He still felt, he said, “the fire in my chest.”

Moreover …

“Really didn’t feel like it was my last game,” he said. “Just felt like I’ve got a lot more to prove.”

Never mind that his role figures to shift from the focal point he so long has been — one who amassed 97 catches last season, even as his diminished burst and ability to shed tackles were evident.

With the return of Hollywood Brown, a more experienced Xavier Worth and Rashee Rice — whom general manager Brett Veach recently said the offense was going to run through before he was injured last season — Kelce likely won’t produce the sort of gaudy numbers he’s so long enjoyed.

But that’s a less consuming point to Kelce now than ever before.

And no doubt being cognizant of that helped him identify what was really summoning him back.

Love of the game and teammates, to be sure.

And the pursuit not of X amount more catches and yards, but another Super Bowl victory.

“That’s the only way I determine whether (this season is) a success or not, man; it’s just kind of how I’m wired now …” he said. “It’s just more of a genuine feel and the right mentality to just go out there and try to make every play for my team, whether it’s receiving or blocking or doing whatever I need to do.”

Toward that end, he’s lost some weight … but not the 25 pounds that ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler last week said people close to Kelce had told him.

“First of all, I never said that,” Kelce said, smiling. “Don’t believe all you read on the internet, guys, alright?”

Just the same, he said he’s “down some weight,” because “each year’s different,” and, “you’ve got to rebuild it.”

He later added: “You have to evolve every single year in all phases of the game.”

So Kelce has done that with his offseason regimen — including a focus on form running — as he sets out to atone for a Super Bowl he lamented as much for his poor blocking and attention to detail and inability to motivate others as his four-catch, 39-yard stats.

And the way to best do that, he stressed, is to be the best teammate and leader he can be and set the tempo for work ethic, as he’ll no doubt do once again when training camp in St. Joseph begins next month.

“That is always No. 1,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to walk the walk, as they say, to be able to talk it and then preach it to guys.”

The numbers will be what they will be, but that’s at the heart of why Kelce’s return was a vital offseason development for the Chiefs.

A return that had to come from the heart.

Which is why Mahomes said Wednesday that he never spoke with his close friend about the notion of retirement while he reckoned Kelce was “re-calibrating.”

“I don’t ever press guys on stuff like that,” Mahomes said. “I just thought I’d give him space and let him make that decision on his own. Because you don’t want to have regret either way.

“If you come back, you don’t want to come back and not give everything that you have to it. And if you leave, you don’t want to leave too soon. So it’s a happy medium that you have to find.”

With a smile, the 29-year-old Mahomes said, “Hopefully, I don’t have to find it for a long time. But that’s something that every athlete has to deal with …”

One way or another, Kelce will be contending with the question again after the 2025 season.

“I got one year (left) on this contract, I know that …” he said. “I can’t see myself ever playing anywhere else, so we’ll deal with that down the road when the time is right.

“But right now I’m focused on winning the championship this year.”

So looking back now, Kelce said, “it really wasn’t that hard a decision for me.”

Especially since he fended off the anguish of the moment and recognized the emotion that still resonates most — the chance to be a vital part of something bigger than himself one more time.

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