The highlights DVD of 2020 may not be a best seller, but it has nevertheless been a landmark year for sport.

In first its total absence, and then its return amid the coronavirus pandemic, we learned what sport meant to all of us, and sport was forced to acknowledge what all of us mean to it.

We missed the social aspect of playing sport, from Monday night five-a-side to a round of golf.

We missed watching our children developing their own love of sport.

We missed the shared experience of celebrating our team scoring a goal, hitting the winning run, or of Team GB and ParalympicsGB lighting up our summer with medals in Tokyo.

You could be cynical and say sport only missed our money through the turnstiles.

But months of watching sport behind closed doors only served to confirm that the atmosphere created by fans is a key ingredient in the spectacle.

It's no coincidence that so many broadcasters, even deep into the pandemic, would use trailers featuring the roar of the crowd.

We await the 'great reset' in the relationship between sports and their paying public with great interest in the years ahead.

We missed a lot, but we also learned a lot too.

Many of us learned anew the importance of exercise – both as a physical protection against the virus itself, and also the mental health benefits of it as we coped with the isolation from friends and family.

This 'revolution' meant bike sales rocketed during the spring lockdown, and parks and footpaths teemed with people taking advantage of the chance to escape their four walls.

But let's not kid ourselves that this was the case for everyone. Sport England's Active Lives study highlighted for those who already found it hardest to be active – the disabled, people with health conditions and the young – the lockdown exacerbated access issues. Tackling those inequalities must be a priority.

We learned too that in a time of crisis, many of those working in sport not only met their social responsibilities, but in some cases far exceeded them.

Sport's 2020 heroes will by and large not be remembered for goals scored, wickets taken, records set or points gained.

Lewis Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven Formula One titles. Just as important as his exploits on the track was his unswerving support for the Black Lives Matter protests, another of the year's big social issues and another where athletes played a hugely positive part.

And there is much to look forward to.

The postponements of 2020 have set up a thrilling 2021, featuring the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Euro 2020, a Lions tour of South Africa and an Ashes series Down Under among many other highlights.

And with promising news on a vaccine, the hope is that the old connections we once took for granted can be renewed, and never taken for granted again.

We need sport, and sport needs us.