Maren Morris's "Humble Quest" was released on March 25, following her sophomore album, "Girl," in 2019. On Jan. 7, she dropped the album's lead single, "Circles Around This Town," followed several months later by "I Can't Love You Anymore." In April, the singer also performed a moving duet of "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" with John Mayer during the Nashville stop of Mayer's 2022 tour.
In an interview with NPR in March, Morris opened up about writing the album during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I feel like the making of this album, not that I would classify it as a pandemic record, but it was certainly created during one," she said. "I feel like I went through a ton of changes and deterioration and growth, and I had my son at the beginning of COVID. And so right after that, like, all touring got blown out for two years. It was sort of like me discovering this new part of myself as a mom – and at the same time losing a little bit of my identity as an artist, because I wasn't able to work."
Morris also recalled losing her friend and producer Michael James Ryan, aka Busbee, to cancer and reflected on the way the meaning of the word "humble" had changed for her over the past two years. "I think it means you're the closest to your compass that you've ever been. It's not for public consumption of how relatable you are. It's: How in touch are you with yourself and your loved ones? Like, the people that know you the closest? . . . We're all just awkwardly feeling our way through this weird world."
