While other contestants on The Amazing Race season 37 prepared by studying maps and practicing their driving skills, winners Carson McCalley and Jack Dodge were prepping in another way.

“We went to therapy together before the race, which was maybe the best advice we could give any racer ever,” Carson, 28, told Parade in an interview published on May 16. “It’s not normal that you go to therapy with your friend. But it was so crucial to our race because we were talking about, ‘How do we relate to each other? How do we communicate? How do we not expect certain things? What do I have? What do I give to this race?’ But it was actually, for us, about breaking down things, removing expectation.”

Carson and Jack, 27, are best friends and video game streamers from Brooklyn, New York. The “Dweeb Wars” podcast hosts were a fan-favorite team in season 37 and often proved their ability to communicate well with each other throughout the race. The duo won four legs and remained in the front of the pack for most of the season. Though they struggled with navigation at times, Carson and Jack were able to bounce back by quickly completing most of the challenges.

In their interview, Jack shared what he and Carson learned in therapy and how it helped them during tougher moments in the race.

“If Carson’s upset, it’s not my responsibility, actually, to make him feel better. He’s going to self-soothe. I’m going to self-soothe. And then we’re going to know that we’re doing our best for ourselves, which is, in turn, good for the other person. And so releasing that expectation of the other person to be any type of way,” he said.

Carson added, “‘When I’m stressed, I need you to talk to me like this.’ I can’t expect you to act or talk or compete the way that I want you to. You’re a different person than me. And when you talked about expectation, it’s really like placement. We did a lot of mental work to be like, ‘Leg 1, [what if] we go home? What would that be like? How would we feel?’ We tried to prepare ourselves for any situation.”

Carson and Jack crossed the finish line in first place in Miami during the finale on May 15, winning the $1 million prize.

“Oh my god, what more could you want? I feel like the luckiest person in the whole world. I’m overwhelmed. And to do it with my best friend, it’s just the most magical thing ever,” Jack told host Phil Keoghan on the mat.

Carson said, “Every single day, we woke up, and we laughed, and we had a blast. I could not ask for anybody as amazing as [Jack] in my life, or on this race.”

The gamer later added, “Being on this race and being with Jack reminded me how much of a gift he is in my life. That just meant the world to me.”

Siblings Han Nguyen and Holden Nguyen followed closely behind in second place, with married parents Jonathan Towns and Ana Rivera Towns taking up the rear in third place. Jonathan, 42, and Ana, 35, made headlines throughout the race due to Jonathan’s various controversial comments toward his wife, including telling her to “stop whining,” calling her a “terrible partner” and blaming her for losing their lead.

The California-based couple addressed the backlash in a video on their YouTube channel on April 8, with Jonathan explaining that he sought help for his concerning behavior after they returned home from the race. He was then diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“Looking back at what I was seeing, and knowing what I know about myself now, it’s so hard for me to be supportive and helpful to somebody when my brain is in this overheated state,” he said, noting that his “hyperactive brain” was triggered during the race.

Jonathan continued, “When I’m on The Race, unlike when I’m at home, I cannot control the external factors. I have no control – my routines are completely non-existent. And we rely on – people like me rely on routines in order to help us regulate our emotions and to control the amount of stimulus that we can get at any given time.”