HOUSTON – Going into the final weekend of the season, defensive end Jerry Hughes will return to the city where it all began when the Houston Texans visit the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts selected Hughes in the first round of the 2010 draft out of TCU, and in the veteran's 13th season, his first with the Texans, he's playing as if he jumped out of the fountain of youth.

The 34-year-old has nine sacks and has the 16th-highest pass rush win rate in the NFL (19%). Those numbers are why Hughes was voted as a Pro Bowl alternate.

However, last season, Hughes wrapped up his ninth and final season with the Buffalo Bills where he recorded just two sacks, one tackle for loss and seven quarterback hits -- his lowest numbers since 2012 with the Colts.

He made a promise to himself that he wouldn't duplicate a season like that again.

Hughes credits his teammates, coach Lovie Smith's defensive scheme, his diet (along with the Texans' nutrition infrastructure) and a plethora of other aspects for his resurgence, but in his mind, his revival hit close to home -- literally.

Prior to signing a two-year deal with the Texans in the offseason, Hughes was doing some "soul searching." The search ended during a children's swim meet last February.

His son, J.R., and daughter, Hayden, were competing.

He had an epiphany as he looked on. He realized what was missing in his own competitive ways. He realized that though there is a lot on the line for professional athletes, that at the end of the day, it's just a game.

He realized in their innocent eyes that he was missing something so simple: have fun.

Hayden, 4, and J.R., 6, sported matching red, white and black swimming uniforms with a red swimming cap. Each glided past their individual competition in their respective heat in a 25-yard freestyle race.

When they exited the pool, both were giddy with excitement. They smiled and pointed towards their proud dad, who stationed himself at the top of natatorium seats to cheer them on.

In that moment, the lightbulb came on for Hughes. Seeing his kids succeed was one thing. Watching them have fun was the game changer.

"I was like 'Oh, that's fun that sports is supposed to bring,'" Hughes told ESPN. "We get paid a king's ransom, but it's still a kids' game and if you want to win, you got to have fun and bring that joy back."

Hughes said last year, with the organization that helped save his career, was mentally turbulent.

In 2013, the Bills traded for Hughes after he logged just five sacks in his first three seasons, and he immediately made an impact. He recorded 10 sacks in his first season (9.5 the next), which led to a five-year extension worth $45 million in 2015.

He left Buffalo ranking fourth all-time in franchise history with 53 sacks, but for some reason before last season even began, his mind was plagued with self-doubt.

As a result, the fun evaporated.

"Man, my doubt crept in Week 1," Hughes said. "The year before, I was a captain. The year after, I wasn't. That bothered me. That probably bothered me for the first two months of the season. It kind of trickled down into 'Am I having fun?' I've never been a captain before, so it was an honor to receive it, and then ... [it was] taken away.

"The first thing that came to my head when they announced captains is 'Okay, so I'm not here next year.'"

Those thoughts would have a ripple effect.

He slowly cleaned out his locker, week by week.

Then obsessive self-criticism appeared on game days. He overthought and pressed to get sacks, which held him back from playing freely.

And when those sacks didn't come, he became overly critical of himself during film study.

"When the production wasn't there, mentally I was tearing myself down," Hughes said, "and I felt like all the negativity that I was bringing towards myself wasn't helping the outcome by any means. I would grade myself, but it would just be so negative. 'I gotta do that better.'

"Not looking at anything positive as to how I was able to beat that man to get in the position to almost make the sack. That was out of the window."

The results during those first four weeks of the season were minimal, as he had three tackles with no sacks or quarterback hits.

Eventually, Hughes realized it was an unhealthy approach.

Hughes credited teammates like Texans' defensive end Mario Addison, who was also on the Bills last year, for constantly being encouraging.

"When you ain't having the season that you normally have, I'd be less of a friend if I didn't stay on him and keep pushing them," Addison said. "When Jerry's focused, nobody stops him."

It wasn't until a Week 5 loss against the Tennessee Titans last season that Hughes felt close to normal. He felt the "fun and energy from the game" as he recorded two quarterback hits.

Hughes stopped removing clothes out of his locker, stopped criticizing himself and carried that positive energy throughout the rest of the season. And even though the raw numbers weren't up to his expectations, he felt a sense of relief. A sense of normalcy.

And it wasn't as if Hughes couldn't beat the man blocking him, as his pass rush win rate was 20.9%, which ranked 13th among qualified pass-rushers. He simply wasn't recording sacks like normal.

So Texans defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire put an emphasis on finishing for Hughes.

"When we brought Jerry on, one thing I noticed about Jerry last year is Jerry had a lot of one-on-one wins." Cesaire said. "I told him that when he came here. I said, 'Look, if you do the same thing you did, the same thing as last year, but now just finish, focus on finishing, getting to the quarterback as fast as you can and taking him down, you'll have a lot more rush production.' And that's what he's done."

Hughes goes into Week 18 as the Texans (2-13-1) travel to the Colts (4-11-1) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) one sack shy of his career high (10).

Whether Hughes comes out with a banner season after re-discovering himself remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain -- he has J.R. and Hayden to credit for finding himself.