How Nature and Nurture Hug It Out

It's a great debate that is present in any psychology class: Nature vs. Nurture.

Nature being our genes, biological traits that we inherit and have no control over and nurture being our environment (even in utero).  Which aspect is strongest when shaping who we are?  

I was watching men's beach volleyball during the Olympics and one of the commentators mentioned that if this Brazilian athlete had been born in the United States, he likely would have gone into the NBA, as he had incredible athletic talent and was very tall.  Of course, there is no way to tell if that were true, but if definitely got me thinking about the nature/nurture question.  

Genetically, this athlete was gifted; He was tall, strong, agile, etc.  However, his environment also had a huge impact on him, he was raised in a country where volleyball was a predominate sport, not basketball.  He obviously had parents, who encouraged him to play volleyball and nurtured his natural talent.  If raised in a different environment, his life may have been very different.  If his parents weren't supportive of his athletics he may have just been a tall guy who had lots of potential, but that potential would have never been discovered.  If he had lived in a place where basketball was a dominate sport, perhaps he would have played in the NBA and had a completely different lifestyle for himself and his family (I don't know what pro-volleyball players make, but I doubt it compares to what an NBA player makes).  

The same can be true for Michael Phelps.  Check out this article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/201209/adhd-kid-olympic-gold-medalist. Michael was diagnosed with ADHD.  He could have easily been a kid who struggle in school, perhaps even one who dropped out because he didn't fit the type of mold that traditional school classrooms are built around.  Again, clearly, he has some genetics (nature) that assist him in being a champion swimmer (Have you seen his feet?  They are like fins!), He was also in an environment that nurtured that talent: a supportive mom who enrolled him on a swim team and a coach that saw talent, his family had the financial means to pay for swim team and his parents must have worked a schedule that allowed him to participate in practice, he lived in a community that had accessible pools so his craft could be fine tuned.  The combination of nature and nurture definitely played a roll in him ending up as the most decorated Olympian of all time.