Olivia: “We have a long way to go this season. We're happy to start with higher scores, and we have high goals. We reached good levels today, but we need more than levels in the free dance—we need the skating skills, the presentation, everything in between. That's what made our last program so special, its fluidity. We need to find that with this one, which will come with endurance and more practice under pressure.”
Tim: “It's a really hard program, very challenging. The footwork is different and more difficult. We elevated our elements from last season; the transitions are much harder, so we need to build the stamina to skate it cleanly.”
On coming back from yesterday's disappointment: Olivia: “As a professional athlete, you learn from those days—they're often bigger learning days than when everything goes right. We closed the book on yesterday, but I woke up this morning feeling ten times more anxious. I had to call our life coach, have a good cry, and put my intentions in a different place for today. I was quite embarrassed by what happened yesterday; as a veteran in this sport, it was a tiny mistake I know I could fix easily. I had to own that embarrassment and use it as fuel, and also remind myself why we came back: for the love of what we do, the connection, the storytelling, and performing—not just the scores and medals.”
