Lehrer writes (page 136):

What causes choking? Although it seems like an amorphous category of failure, or even a case of excess emotion, choking is actually triggered by a specific mental mistake: thinking too much.

On the fifth day of the Big Spring Nationals we were again heading to the west then to the north. The lift was weak, the clouds weren't there until 1:15 PM. We had to huddle together around the airfield. I benefited from my teammates going back to the airfield and getting high under the newly forming clouds.

At the second start time I was anxious to get going. I was at cloud base, the cloud was moving slowly out of the start cylinder, I wasn't sure that I could hang around for another half an hour at cloud base for the last start time, there were a few other pilots taking this second clock. Still the cu's out in front were very sparse, we had been waiting for an hour and a half in the start cylinder for the conditions to improve, and they weren't all that great yet (or so it appeared).

I have been at cloud base before and not taken a start time, and then ended up starting later, not being at cloud base, and then not catching any one. But starting now meant going without my team mates and losing their help. The feeling was that it was time to go.

What I didn't know was that Glen Volk was a few kilometers to the south and he was taking the second clock right as I was trying to make up my mind. He was far enough away that I couldn't see him nor get to him to hook up with him. Feeling that I must go, I headed out following a few pilots that were headed for the next thermal.

Five kilometers out I came in under a few pilots circling but took only one turn as I didn't feel anything useful. Maybe I should have looked around a bit more as they were under a cloud, but I felt that I needed to go on to the small forming cu's another five kilometers down the course line.

The lift there was better but only 130 fpm. I moved over to 275 fpm and my attitude improved.

After climbing back up to almost cloud base I head toward Sunny and Bob who started at the first start time and were circling in two different broad searching patterns, low over an area that looked like it would soon offer them some real lift.

I found 250 fpm over them and started to climb back toward cloud base, but the lift weakened at 125 fpm. They were still circling and climbing below me.  I saw a great looking cu three kilometers to my south east and left the lift 1,500' below what I could have climbed to thinking (hoping?) that I would find better.

Remember the day hadn't been that good, except under the cu's in the start circle. And it didn't look that great out here on the course line. This cloud looked good, but I didn't find any lift under it. I had just left two pilots who would have helped me out if I had stuck with them for at least five more minutes.

I felt that I could find better, that I could do better, that these two pilots were not the partners that I wanted to help me out. They weren't my teammates. I had already abandoned them, of course.

Not finding any lift I had to go into desperation search mode, because I hadn't started that high to begin with. We weren't getting that high so far this year in Texas (we would later) and that really cut down on the chances of finding the next thermal. I headed back for another nearby cloudy area and picked up 150 fpm at 1,400'. I decided it was time to quit being a cowboy and just hang on long enough to get up.

Half an hour later I would find myself in a nice thermal when Zippy and the Jeff's came in 200' under me. They had started half an hour later but had almost caught me as a squandered all my lead circling up from the deck.

Of course, when I was on my own again, as I couldn't wait around (five minutes) for my teammates to catch up with me. Oh, that would be embarrassing. It was already bad enough.

I was out in front but soon 1,400' off the deck again and having to work 100 fpm, while Shapiro found 400 fpm three kilometers to my north and was now much higher than me. O'Brien found 400 fpm two kilometers behind me and was 1,000' higher. I couldn't win.

After the three of us got the first turnpoint I was again on my own and down to 1,400' AGL, just heading back toward the highway without much chance of getting up when I essentially just lucked into 250 fpm. I was going to hang with it because I was so low and my only ambition now, after everyone passed me by, was to make it to goal.

Shapiro was two kilometers out a head of me higher and climbing, but O'Brien was below him, not any higher than me and not finding the lift that Shapiro was in. In fact, I could see him struggling. I just hung on because I had no hope otherwise.

O'Brien didn't find any more lift and landed. I wandered around in his general area at maybe 2,000' AGL, finding short sections of 100 fpm and hanging with it. I was utterly patient at this point, more patient than I think I have every been in my flying life.

I came over another pilot and stuck with him for twelve minutes in 100 fpm wondering if there was better around. Finally, I left to go to what looked like better lift, and right away he got up much better than I did in lift that suddenly turned on. I couldn't win.

Finally, I was able to find 225 fpm, get high and limp my way into goal, still being extra careful after being almost on the ground four times and losing ground to all my teammates and other competitors, but O'Brien.