Sometimes the hype becomes too much to handle.

Speaking in front of a crowd in Taiwan, Houston Rockets star Jeremy Lin opened up about the dark side of his inaugural season in Texas.

After a magical season in New York, Lin said the suddenly high expectations in the Big Apple were carried into his tenure with Houston. But he was seemingly trying -- and thinking -- too hard.

"I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player ... trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm," Lin said.  "The coaches were losing faith in me; basketball fans were making fun of me ... I was supposed to be joyful and free, but what I experienced was the opposite. I had no joy, and I felt no freedom."

Lin's comments might reassure fans -- even if it is just for a short period of time -- that he is human, after all. In an era when video games and marketing campaigns combine to create images of perfect, omnipotent stars, it becomes easy for fans to get lost in the false reality that the players seem flawless. It is especially an uphill battle for younger stars who lack years of experience in the spotlight.

As Lin enters his second year with the team, the pressure does seem to have been taken down a notch. Because his numbers were not as impressive last season, there will not be the same standard to reach as there was coming from New York. He also has a new teammate in Dwight Howard, who is a national icon and will help distract the attention from being solely focused on Lin. Furthermore, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spoke up last week and defended Lin in a way that all but affirmed that we should see the star in Houston when the season begins.

Many praised Lin's decision to speak up on the issues from last season. ESPN anchor Dario Melendez (@Dario_Melendez) said in a tweet, "Linsanity makes a BIG statement," while a fan on Twitter named AJ Basilan (@Salvatatria) said, "What a humble guy you are, [Jeremy Lin]."

Some proof of Lin's massive fan base can be seen in the fact that he has 1.5 million followers on Twitter, and that number has grown by hundreds of thousands since he was dubbed "Linsanity" as a member of the Knicks. The Harvard graduate recently released a "You've Changed" spoof video on his YouTube account and it has racked up 2.8 million views in a mere week. He commented on the video yesterday, saying, tongue planted firmly in cheek, "I'm awesome!"