Sunzi Bingfa chapter 11 classifies nine varieties of terrain, ending with death ground, where survival requires fighting: 'On death ground, fight.' The text prescribes casting troops into positions with no retreat so that desperation forges cohesion, and cites the precedent of generals burning boats and breaking cauldrons, the tactic Xiang Yu famously executed at the Battle of Julu, 207 BCE, recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian.
Motivational culture loves the burned boats as a metaphor for commitment. Sun Tzu's version is applied to other people: the general engineers the trap for his own army, manufacturing the desperation he needs.
The nine grounds are psychological states wearing geography: the text maps morale onto soil, teaching that interior states can be engineered by exterior position. Death ground is the proof of concept, courage is a location you can be moved to.
If men fight best with no way out, what exits are you keeping that keep you weak?