Billingslea knows this sweet spot well. He’s been in it many times before, and the fluency of his performance tonight and every other night depends upon him accessing it. All of which brings us back to his warmup routine and its sole function: “It gives me the best shot of entering the zone, and of getting there consistently,” he explains. In addition to preparing his mind and body, this routine—the same one he’s executed for years—helps create a sense of normalcy and predictability, a kind of comfort in a situation that most anyone would find uncomfortable.
