The great ones become great through creating competition even where none exists. A former Patriot observes something about Tom Brady that sounds exactly like the Sports Guy describing Michael Jordan:
I remember Cris Carter saying this at the rookie symposium: He was at his best and most successful when he created the problem for himself. And what that means is, he would walk into the room, and he would have a chip on his shoulder from what he created, to where he would just look at a guy and say, man, that guy doesn’t like my mom, or that guy is trying to take food off my plate. I’m gonna go show him. That’s the little details of being a professional in this league, and how competitive it is to where eventually it just gets boring—you have to figure out how to create your own edge. Tom’s done an amazing job of that time and time and time again.
Don’t relax. Don’t coast. Don’t stop beating the dead horse. Compete, create your own edge, and conquer.