Do athletes do better in school during their seasons?

In the article "Do athletes do better in school during their seasons?" the author claims that student athletes do better in school during their playing seasons because they pay more attention in class because of their busy schedule, the author claims the student is more motivated academically to do their homework and keep their grades up. I agree with the author's claim, but I also think it depends on the student athlete them self weather their academically motivated or not to do better in school during their playing seasons.