Less than a month ago, Carlin spoke of his excitement about the return of the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow next summer. Not least because he now lives close to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, where the cycling sport will take place.
But his decision to quit had already been made and retrospective examination of what he said at the time reveals a vagueness about his ambitions for that event.
As a potential poster boy for the revamped event – he was in the stands as a child in 2014 and won medals at the next two Games – was it a struggle to avoid the chance of a glorious end to his career?
“It was the elephant in the room,” Carlin said of Glasgow 2026.
“People I’ve told have asked, ‘What about Glasgow?’ But it’s less than a year away and I would be doing myself and the jersey a disservice if I tried to put it back on my back when I’m just not in shape for that.”
Carlin doesn’t need that elusive gold medal or another wave of adoration from the home crowd to validate his achievements.
It is achievements that place him fourth in the list of all-time Scottish Olympic medalists, behind only Duncan Scott, Sir Chris Hoy and Katherine Grainger.
As he says, many of his competitors will leave the sport without ribbons around their necks and without precious metal in their hands.
Like him, they will have memories, experiences and friendships, and it is these – like the medals – that the Scot will cherish when he reflects on them.
“It’s rare that someone steps away while he or she is still at the top,” he adds. “But you have to be able to give 100%.
“I can distance myself from saying ‘I gave everything I could, I gave my whole body to this sport and I am satisfied’. There was nothing more I could do. So I can’t be upset.
“I started this journey when I was 14 years old and my mom and dad gave up time and money because we didn’t have to let me pursue that dream.
“And if someone had told ‘Wee Jack from Paisley’ ten years ago that he would have four Olympic medals around his neck, he wouldn’t have believed them.”
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