About this episode

Robby Rowland explores the contrast between feeling confident in practice and struggling during games due to fear and overthinking.

This episode is about the battle between flow and fear — and why one shows up in practice while the other takes over in games. Today Robby Rowland dives deep into why so many athletes feel elite in practice but struggle to transfer that performance into games — and how obsession, fear, and overthinking can quietly rob you of flow..inevitably robbing you of the performance you know you’re capable of. This is a raw, experience-driven breakdown of threat perception, discomfort, joy, and the practical tools that actually helped Robby navigate performance anxiety, the yips , and pressure moments at the highest levels of baseball. ⏱️ Episode Timestamps + Topics 00:00 – 02:14 Intro + why this episode matters • Feeling better in practice than games • Nervous system, anticipation, and heaviness on game day 02:14 – 03:31 What this episode will cover • Practice vs game performance • Personal experiences • Practical tools, not theory 03:31 – 04:53 Why the task is the same — but performance isn’t • Bullpens vs live games • Brain response to environment • Thoughts driving physical output 04:53 – 05:56 Fight-or-flight vs flow • Low expectation in practice • Threat perception in games • Why flow…

People in this episode

Host: Robby Rowland

Topics covered

• performance anxiety
• flow vs fear
• practice vs game performance
• mental health in sports
• athlete mindset

Keywords

• performance
• athletes
• yips
• pressure moments
• threat perception

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• Why ‘FLOW’ Beats ‘Mechanics’ | THE HEAT CHECK 4 · December 12, 2025 · 32 min
• Losing Myself in the Pursuit of Perfection | THE HEAT CHECK 3 · December 7, 2025 · 44 min
• When a Ball Player STOPS Ball Playing ⚾️ | THE HEAT CHECK 2 · December 2, 2025 · 43 min
• Why I Lost My Joy for Creating (And How I’m Getting It Back) | THE HEAT CHECK 1 · November 28, 2025 · 35 min

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