Mental preparation is where many athletes struggle. Perhaps I should simply say, they do not know how to train their mind. Competition is a psychological activity and those who win the most tend to have the sharpest minds. They have a system of thinking and mentally preparing just as they have a system for training the body.
My intrigue with how powerful the mind is started way back in high school. I was always floored when I saw major slackers place top 3 in our county wrestling tournament and sometimes qualify or even place in the states! I would question how lazy, excuse making athletes could succeed at such a high level?