Don't do it as part of a midlife crisis, anyway.
Start young, no ties, no family commitments, get with your local team at whatever level and put in a gazillion hours working for peanuts (or gratis) at whatever level that is. Then you know if you can handle it, plus maybe if you're really lucky you stumble across the paths of people who can gradually hook you up to the next level, if you're diligent and lucky enough.
Well, I don't say that as someone who did it, but rather as someone who sat in a lot of junior rinks occasionally stumbling across others who were trying to do it. (And occasionally being tempted, but never thinking it ultimately made sense.)
