There is a point at which the game often starts to fall apart,
yet most players do not notice it:
when you are well ahead.
You are leading.
The game is going well.
And something changes without you realising it.
Not in your body.
In your mind.
Attention drops a little.
Precision drops a little.
Presence drops a little.
This is not random.
Performance science has known about it for more than 100 years.
In 1908, psychologists Yerkes and Dodson experimentally showed that performance does not rise linearly with arousal.
There is an optimal level of alertness.
Above it, you become anxious.
Below it, you relax too much and execution deteriorates.
When you are ahead, the brain often drops below that level.
Not because it is afraid.
But because it feels safe.
In pool, this shows up as:
an “easy” miss,
a rushed shot,
a small loss of control that was not there before.
So when you are ahead,
the aim is not to relax.
It is to maintain the same alertness.
The score is information.
It is not a signal to change your state.
Players who maintain their level while leading
do not play differently.
They play the same way, with the same attention.
This is not psychology.
It is a law of performance.
If you find this useful, keep it.
If not, move on.