Oh, that's cool!
It's such a great quote. Patience with the process is such a hard thing at any age, but I think it's more so early on because there are all sorts of steps (like you have a clock ticking on Junior Nationals then a clock ticking in the US on collegiate sports careers).
But even for those of us who are older, we can make calendar-based goals (this year I will run a sub-20 5K or this year I will lose 20 pounds or whatever), but in the end, having the right process is so much more important than having the right outcome (Goodhart's Law and all that).
I'm guessing that to have that insight so young, Alex had some very good mentors at a young age.