“Motion Sickness” was written about Bridgers' ex-boyfriend Ryan Adams,[2] who produced her debut EP Killer and released it on his record label PAX AM.

Of the song's relevance to the situation, Flood magazine writer Anya Jaremko-Greenworld said "when Bridgers sings sadly on the chorus, 'There are no words in the English language / I could scream to drown you out,' she's wrong.

"[2] "Motion Sickness" was accompanied by a Justin Mitchell-directed video that depicts Bridgers riding a scooter around her Los Angeles neighborhood in a tuxedo, before ending up in a karaoke bar.

"[14] Tully Claymore of Stereogum described the song as "an aching betrayal, a story of a friendship or relationship that collapsed under some unknowable pressure"[1] In a review for the album, Ellen Peirson-Hagger of Under the Radar singled it out as a highlight, saying "Stand-out track 'Motion Sickness' hits at both the familiarity she spawns with her youthful lyrics, and her controlled and nuanced observational skill.

She acknowledges her childishness, singing 'I hate you for what you did/and I miss you like a little kid,' while still rendering the ability to mock her overbearing sensitivity with 'I have emotional motion sickness/Somebody roll the windows down.