Figure skater Maxim Naumov knows what it means to be resilient in the face of challenging circumstances — and has some advice for his teammate Ilia Malinin.

Naumov, 24, shared a few words of wisdom he’d like to relay to Malinin, 21, with PEOPLE, words that come after the star skater failed to make the podium in a men’s figure skating final where he was expected to win it all.

“This message is for Ilia specifically. I just want him to know that it’s sports. It’s hard,” Naumov told PEOPLE at Team USA’s Winter House. “And the fact of what happened is a reality and it shows just how real and raw it all is.”

Naumov went on to say he and his Team USA teammates’ support for Malinin has not, and will not, waver, no matter what happens on the ice.

“A lot of times we as athletes tie so much of our performance and the points [to] our own self-worth, and I just want Ilia to know that we love him and we support him and it doesn’t matter,” said Naumov. “None of the skating stuff is ever going to affect that.”

Naumov — who lost his parents in the American Airlines Flight 5342 crash over Washington, D.C. last year — added that in moments such as this, when things didn’t go the way you’d hoped, the most important thing is how you bounce back. And he has no doubt Malinin will do so with grace.

“Knowing him, he’s definitely going to respond big and I’m just praying for him. I want to support him as best I can,” said Naumov. “As a teammate, as a friend and just as a human. It’s tough. But that’s sports. Things like that are gonna happen, and like I said, it’s how you bounce back that’s the most important.”

While Malinin came in eighth place in the men’s final, Naumov ended up in 20th. As for what’s next, the athlete says he’s looking forward to going home and geting some good shut-eye. But after, he’s focused on the future, which he hopes includes more coaching via Tomorrow’s Champions, a training program founded by his late parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, at The Skating Club of Boston.

“I definitely need a little bit of a reset, a little bit of a moment to myself and a chance to look back and reminisce, but also have some space to think about what the future holds for me,” he said. “I’m definitely interested in putting more time and dedication into coaching and helping support the youth coming up… I’m young. I’m 24, so the future is very bright in whatever direction that I go and if it’s in the cards, it’s in the cards. I just need some space to figure that out.”

Naumov added that he’s really been enjoying bonding with other athletes in the Olympic Village, particularly the speedskaters, with whom he’s swapped stories and learned about the way they operate.

“There’s mutual respect for everybody and every one of these athletes that’s at this Games, we know what we sacrifice and what we did to get to this point,” he said. “Going to the dining hall and seeing just like, what seems like hundreds of athletes all hanging out and mingling and talking and laughing and that experience is something I’ll remember forever.”

In an Instagram post shared on Monday, Feb. 16, Malinin wrote he was working through “the darkness” in the days after his disappointing event, and had to deal with “vile online hatred” and “insurmountable pressure.”

“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” Malinin began his post. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure.”

He went on to tease a date of Feb. 21, which coincides with the date of the Olympics figure skating exhibition gala, a special performance at the end of each Olympic Games that typically features the sport’s medalists.

Though Malinin did not medal in the men’s individual event, finishing eighth overall, he did win gold along with Team USA in the team competition and plans to perform in the gala, USA Today’s Christine Brennan reported Sunday.