The Stack

Enzo grew up on New Beijing and became obsessed with old Earth racing at a young age. His great-great grandfather was a Grand Prix driver back in the day. But New Beijing’s racing all takes place in Virtual. Back on Earth, because of the influence of Meths, physical driving competitions still exist.
He saves for years, working odd jobs, driving transports, racing in VR, honing his skills. He makes enough to afford needlecasting back to Earth.
He quickly learns he’s romanticized the past far too much, and that the planet is stagnant under the control of the Meths.
He tries to break into the world of professional racing, but most of the drivers are indebted to specific Meths.
Enzo learns the hard way how little upward mobility there is on Earth compared to the colonies.
Between the cost of needlecasting and a new sleeve, Enzo is very nearly broke. He ends up driving for the only people who will pay someone to actually drive them - criminals. He’s expected to also work as a bodyguard, and he gets a module installed to augment lessons. He also gets reflex enhancements that he’s slowly paying off his employer for.
He does find a way to scratch his need for speed though, in the form of working as a getaway driver for-hire for the criminal set. He’s good at it.
He has become a full-blown criminal in the years since coming to Earth, but still daydreams about one day being a legitimate racer.