The driving force behind clutch performances: Emotional Control or Raw Talent?

We often hear that certain athletes just have that it factor, a trait that gives them the same courage to perform under pressure like 100 men attempting to fight a gorilla. Athletes such as a Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, the late Kobe Bryant, Robert Horry, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Lionel Mesi just to name a few. Curious about this thing called the "it factor", inspired me to write and publish a book in 2020 titled, The IT Factors For Athletic Dominance: Identifying the traits of elite athletes. ESPN highlights make us believe that pure, raw talent is the reason these athletes are clutch when everything is on the line. However, as we all know, highlight reels seldomly tell the full story.

According to research, in high-pressure situations, the brain and body enter a stress-response loop where the following occurs:

• Heart rate spikes

• Breathing shortens and becomes shallow

• The amygdala (emotional center) activates

• The prefrontal cortex (decision-making center) often gets overrun

  
  

And without proper coping skills to regulate this response, raw talent often gets overpowered by the stress response loop causing even the most physically gifted athletes to crumble under pressure during clutch moments.

Millán-Sánchez et al. (2023) report that athletes with emotional regulation skills are better at decision-making, focus, and executing under pressure. Emotional intelligence contributes to consistent peak performances, flow state, and mental resilience (Kopp & Jekauc, 2018). Emotional intelligence is foundational to an athlete being able to control their nervous system when they are called to put on their superhero cape and save the day. Kobe Braynt once stated, “What I try to do is just try to be still and understand that things come and go. Emotions come and go. The important thing is to accept them all, to embrace them all. And then you can choose what to do with them, versus being controlled by them.”

So, how do clutch performers use emotional intelligence in sport? They ask themselves the following questions when the moment heats up:

• “What am I feeling and why?” (self-awareness)

• “How can I respond with calmness instead of reacting out of panic?” (self-regulation)

• “What can I do to remain focused?” (intrinsic motivation)

  
  

Emotionally intelligent athletes do not just play hard, they play smart.

After then Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was seen throwing an iPad on the sideline, Tom expressed, "I've gotta be really mindful of that going forward and getting my emotions in a good place so it allows me to be the best player I can be." Schweickle et al. (2021) assert that clutch performers do not act from wild or uncontrolled intensity, but rather from a place of heightened focus, calmness (internal emotional state), poise (external presentation), and emotional stability, which is cultivated through training, not DNA produced, which brings us to the good news. Emotional intelligence is a skill that can be developed and trained just like a physical skill. 

Here are a few ways for an athlete to improve their emotional intelligence and self-regulation skills to stay composed when there is .03 seconds left on the clock:

• Breath training (i.e. 4 seconds inhale 6 seconds exhale) to regulate the nervous system

• Grounding techniques like the 5-4-3-2-1 method for presence (engage the senses)

• Reset routines (breath + cue word + gesture) after a mistake

• Post-game emotional reflection (to identify emotional triggers or progress)

• Reframe pressure as a privilege, not a threat

I often tell my athletes that mental toughness without emotional regulation is like a powerful car going 100 mph without a driver. Well, actually that is possible these days with advanced technology, but that is beside the point.

 Conclusion

Raw talent may get an athlete noticed, but when the pressure is at its highest, it is an athlete’s ability to regulate their emotions and exude poise that gets them respect. The research is clear, clutch performance is not a genetic trait that only a select few possess, it is a skill that can be developed over the course of time. Athletes tend to train harder when their performance dips, but rarely pause to explore what is happening emotionally. And the athletes who consistently deliver in those moments do not just train harder or have better physiques, they have better management of their inner emotional state. When an athlete train their emotional intelligence like their body, they gain control over their emotions, mindset, and performance because contrary to popular belief, the biggest moments in sport are not physical, but emotional.

References

 Millán-Sánchez, A., et al. (2023). Effects of emotional regulation and impulsivity on sports performance. Frontiers in Psychology.

 Kopp, A., & Jekauc, D. (2018). The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Performance in Competitive Sports: A Meta-Analytical Investigation. Sports, 6(4), 175.

Schweickle, M. J., Vella, S. A., & Swann, C. (2021). Exploring the "clutch" in clutch performance: A qualitative investigation of the experience of pressure in successful performance. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 54, 101889.