Empathize without Sympathy

For constant readers, I try to collect great bon mots, snippets and passages that great writers have offered about the craft of writing.

Today, Kottke.org provided one from David Foster Wallace:
When asked about the similarities between great athletes and great novelists, Wallace suggested that great athletes possess the ability to "empathize without sympathy" with their opponent, something that is useful in fiction writing when putting yourself in the shoes of a character.