How is Pearl Avenue symbolic of Flick Webb's road in life?

In John Updike's "Ex-Basketball Player," Pearl Avenue is described as a very short street that is cut off prematurely before reaching the garage. The speaker writes,

Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot,
Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off
Before it has a chance to go two blocks,
At Colonel McComsky Plaza. (lines 1-4)

This opening description of the street foreshadows the fate of the titular athlete, Flick Webb. He was apparently a phenomenal basketball player when he was young. The speaker even describes him as "the best" and as a county record holder in scoring points in a season. However, Flick now "just sells gas, / Checks oil, and changes flats" (19-20). The word "just" conveys the disappointment both Flick and the county likely feel about his brief basketball career. He was so gifted at the sport, but he does not play any more and "never learned a trade." His potential, like Pearl Avenue, was cut short. The speaker says that many in the town remember Flick's prowess, but ultimately, it no longer matters, as "It makes no difference to the lug wrench" (25). The street described at the start of the poem parallels and foreshadows Flick's brief basketball career, as the poem reflects on wasted potential and the disappearing dreams of youth.

Pearl Avenue is brought up by the poem's narrator in the opening stanza of the poem. We are told that the most noteworthy aspect of Pearl Avenue is its length. It is exceptionally short. It does not even go two full blocks. It has been cut off. The road is symbolic of Flick Webb's life because his fast track to great success has been cut off. In high school, Flick Webb was a basketball phenom. He loved the game, and he had amazing control over the ball. We are told that it looked as if the ball loved Flick Webb back. He even holds a county record for most points scored in a season. Unfortunately, all Flick Webb knows is basketball. He never learned a trade, and he was not quite good enough to take his game to the next level. As a result, he works at a dead-end gas station with essentially no hope of doing anything special with his life. The road has also been cut short and leads to nowhere in particular.