Getty ImagesScotty Lago does it for his Frends.

At the first Grand Prix snowboard contest in Copper Mountain, Colo., in December, Scotty Lago stood at the top of the halfpipe surrounded by his Frends. Having his five best friends, his roommates, his support system, cheering him on as he dropped into the pipe was as crucial an element of competing as making sure his bindings were secured to his board. Kevin Pearce was the calming force. Danny Davis, the energizer. Mason Aguirre, the experienced one. And the Mitrani brothers, Luke and Jack, were his reminder to always go for it. Snowboarding is not a team sport, but to the six members of the ubiquitous Frends snowboard crew, it sure felt that way.

Once they dropped in, it was every man for himself. But it was impossible to ignore the impact all the male bonding was having on their riding. Armed with double corks and enviable amplitude and oozing with individual style, the six Frends had collectively worked their way to the top of the list of Riders Not Named Shaun White with a legit shot at making the Olympic team. Within a month, that list drastically changed.

First, on Dec. 31, Pearce, who most people believed had the greatest shot at making the team and possibly dethroning White in Vancouver, was injured while training in the Park City halfpipe and is currently recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Then Aguirre's quest to make a second-straight Olympic team ended when he injured his shoulder at the second Grand Prix stop in Mammoth in early January. And then Davis broke his L3 vertebrae and his pelvis in a late-night ATV accident hours after winning the second Dew Tour stop Jan. 17 in Snowbasin, Utah, and is recovering from surgeries to repair both injuries. "Earlier this week, Jack and I were going to two different hospitals in Salt Lake to visit Kevin and Danny," Lago says. It's not how he envisioned spending his days before the final contests of the qualifying season. "Not at all," he says. "Not at all."

Now, heading into the final two contests that will determine the U.S. team, Lago and the Mitranis are the remaining members of the Frends "team" with a chance at continuing their season into Vancouver. "It feels so tangible right now," Lago says. "Two years ago, I set my mind to making the team. Accomplishing that goal would be huge. It's a dream. I'm not in the military, but by representing the United States, I can do a service to my country. And it's something I want to do for myself."

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But now, making the team also feels like something he is doing for his Frends. "Danny kept saying, 'Do it for the crew. Do it for the crew,'" Lago says. "But it feels weird doing it without them." It also requires an intense level of focus and the ability to push aside the mixed feelings, heavy heart and fear in order to perform at the top of his game.

"I saw Kevin's crash and I was traumatized by it," Lago says. "It was the heaviest crash I'd ever seen. The first couple days back riding, I couldn't get it out of my mind. But then I realized I've been riding for 15 years and a fall like that is so rare. I had to push it out of my mind. Today, with a contest tonight, isn't the time to be thinking about it. Jack and Luke and I are staying together for moral support and we are helping each other focus."

Friday night, they'll put that focus to use. Lago says he left Thursday night's practice feeling as confident as he has all season. With a third-place finish in Mammoth, he needs one more podium finish and he can book his ticket to Canada. "This pipe is long and it has a big transition, so it's easy to catch the transition and throw my bigger tricks," he says. Friday night, Lago says he'll start off with his standard run and then see where he stands heading into his second and final run. If he needs it, that's when he'll pull out the cab double cork 1080, a trick he's been saving for this event. "It's not one of my more consistent tricks," he says, "but I feel good in this pipe," he says. "I feel really good."

Saturday night, after the final U.S. team roster is announced, he might be feeling even better.