New Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly pulled into the school parking lot, early to a parent-teacher conference Wednesday afternoon. Before he entered, he had to call in from Houston for his introductory Zoom press conference with Chicago reporters.

“It was tough to make this decision, probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Pressly said of waiving his no-trade clause to go to the Cubs. “But playing in Chicago has kind of always been a dream of mine, and I’m excited to get out there and put on a Cubs uniform.”

Approving the trade from Houston meant leaving a place Pressly had come to consider home. The Dallas native had pitched for the Astros for parts of six seasons, since the Twins traded him in July of 2018. And his wife, Kat, grew up in Houston.

“A lot of my friends and family live in the Houston area,” Presley said. “And then going up to play the Rangers, [a division rival,] I get to see even more family and friends. Both my kids were born here. They go to school here. … It’s hard to leave your home.”

Then there was the chance to go to Chicago, play for a historic franchise, and pitch at Wrigley Field. Pressly mentioned watching “Rookie of the Year,” the fictional movie about a 12-year-old who stumbles into pitching for the Cubs, as a kid.

“It was one of these opportunities I don’t feel like comes around very often,” Pressly said.

Pressly will also get to compete for the closer spot, which wasn’t open anymore in Houston. When the Astros signed Josh Hader to a five-year, $95 million deal last year, they moved Pressly from closer to setup man.

“He’s an unbelievable guy and a great teammate,” Pressly said of Hader. “And pitching in the eighth inning, setting him up, I wanted to help the team win. It didn’t matter, really, what I did. And learning from it, it was tough. You get demoted, and then you’ve got to go out there and be professional and try to lead the right way. … That’s what they pay us to do, is to go out there and be a professional.”

The Cubs didn’t have a consistent closer last year, but by the end of the season, Porter Hodge had claimed the role as a rookie. He recorded nine saves and a 1.88 ERA.

“He had an unbelievable year, put up great numbers,” Pressly said. “I think we’re going to be a pretty dynamic duo in the back end of the bullpen. I’m going to go into camp competing for that ninth inning role, and whatever happens is going to happen. And if they think that I can fit in that ninth inning role or the eighth inning role, then my job is just to go get three outs, four outs, five outs — doesn’t matter.”

Though the Cubs can’t offer the same level of familiarity as the Astros, Pressly will recognize plenty of faces when he reports to spring training. He said he plans to head to Arizona on Sunday.

Pressly will be reunited with Astros teammate Kyle Tucker and Twins teammate Caleb Thielbar. And Pressly goes way back with pitching coach Tommy Hottovy — to before Pressly even cracked into the majors, when he and Hottovy overlapped in the Red Sox organization. Then there’s Jameson Taillon, who grew up in the Houston area, and who Pressly has crossed paths with through a mutual trainer.

“He sold me on it pretty good,” Pressly said of conversations with Taillon about the Cubs.

According to Pressly, “within 30 seconds” of waiving his no-trade clause, he received a text message from shortstop Dansby Swanson. Pressly has also talked to manager Craig Counsell and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.

“Everybody’s been welcoming, with open arms,” Pressly said. “It’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait.”