What if a rower gets tired while rowing?

Answer 1

They *should* try to suck it up and keep going. But you must answer whether you are merely tired, afraid of physical pain, or the discomfort of being out of breath, or are you approaching the limits of physical exertion. Anything less than the latter, requires you to dig down and give every thing you've got, because unless you are a single sculler, their is 1, 3 or even 7 other people depending on you.

Now, assuming a rower is approaching their physical limits, they will typically start exerting less effort. In order to stay in time at high stroke rates, they will then have to shorten their stroke length relative to the other rowers in the boat. And while they will not be contributing very much, if they are able to keep their bladework clean and keep in time, this is preferable to just giving up and quiting entirely. And in case anyone is worried that I have just divulged the secret for wimping out, don't worry, your coach, and others in the boat will still be able to tell who is not pulling their share.