Steve Nash directs for ESPN

Steve Nash was very young when Terry Fox was running across Canada to raise money for cancer research. But like every Canadian his age or older, he recalls it clearly.

“I remember waking up that summer of 1980 as a 6-year-old to see where Terry was,’’ the two-time NBA MVP said Wednesday.

To honor Fox, Nash co-directed “Into the Wind,’’ an emotionally powerful entry in ESPN’s “30 for 30’’ series that premieres Tuesday night.

Nash said part of the goal was to “humanize’’ Fox, who over the past three decades has become such an iconic figure in Canada that some of his normal frailties have been lost in translation.

“One thing that was really important for us was to put people in his shoes,’’ Nash said.