What is the main conflict in The Brothers K by David James Duncan?

The Brothers K, by David James Duncan, is about the Chance family from Camas, Washington. The story is told by one of the sons, Kincaid. The story begins in the early 1950s and continues to the mid-1970s.

Kincaid Chance tells the story of his family: father Hugh, mother Laura, brothers Irwin, Everett, Peter and Kincaid, sisters Beatrice and Winifred. The Chance family resides in Camas, Washington. Hugh is a failed professional ball player who is forced to work at a pulp mill in order to provide for his family, and Laura is a homemaker who is extremely religious. Hugh's hopes for a recovery from a minor injury are dashed when his pitching thumb is ruined by an industrial accident at the mill.