[ehnto]

Great examples of your last point in most speed sports. The quickest competitors always look like they're extreme risk takers, but it's more likely they've had ample time experiencing mistakes and as such, they know their ability to recover well enough to deduce a good safety margin.

I love watching ragged edge hill climb segments or peak performance downhill mountain biking runs, they're this weird blend of composure and moments of recovery, and you can see them pushing through each small mistake fearlessly, as they're so familiar with them.