I agree he is strong mentally. I am not dissing him in anyway. Just that being at your very first worlds as the favorite to win, would be a nearly impossible situation for anyone. I am sure it impacted him somewhat, no matter how tough he is. He has much more experience now.
Nathan was
one of the top favorites to win Worlds 2017. No one was dissing Hanyu and Javi that dismissively and neither Shoma nor Boyang Jin, nor Patrick at that point either. And sure there was all the buzz about Nathan having landed 5 quads at Nationals and again at 4CCs to win in a close battle against Yuzuru. I'm sure Nathan was experiencing a lot of welcome excitement and nervous energy, without a doubt. But debuting at senior Worlds is something Nathan had been striving for his entire career, so it was likely a positive and energetic feeling of being on the path of attaining his long-held goals. Plus, he'd been beating guys older than himself for his entire career. If there was any negative anxiety Nathan was feeling in Finland, it was most likely about the uncertainty surrounding his ability to be able to rely on his equipment: namely his boots.
I don't think you were dissing Nathan at all with your comments. That's a fair view on your part. I just happen to disagree with you. Some athletes are able to manage their nerves better than other athletes. And some athletes' personalities are also better equipped to handle the hoopla that comes with success, than the personalities of other athletes. Every person is unique unto themselves. And IMO, Nathan is a different breed of human animal/ sportsperson.
For example, knowing that he couldn't really rely on his boots, Nathan still went out there in his Worlds debut no less, and he tried his best, having put together a last-minute strategy of how he might be able to compensate with unsteady boots. I don't think that some athletes would have been able to muster the courage to even have gone out there for fear of embarrassing themselves in boots that were at that point extremely unreliable and unpredictable. Not only did Nathan go out there, he didn't worry about the prospect of falling, nor the reality of falling. He simply got back up and went full guns blazing for his strategy of trying for six quads! Are you kidding me?! Who else does that? No one else yet. The point I'm trying to make, and Nathan already demonstrated is:
"I don't give up. No matter what happens." Nathan wasn't worried about butterflies, nor about unsturdy freakin' boots. He was after competing his best, doing his business, making it as hard as possible for his competitors, while staying fully focused on what was within his own power. Many competitors would have simply downgraded, hesitated and faltered on every jump, or flinched and not tried even two quads, let alone a sixth after falling on some jumps because of those dang boots.
So once again nope, I do not think 2017 Worlds for Nathan Chen was about him being nervous to compete, or lacking experience. Nathan soaks up experience and the lessons he learns from his experiences like a sponge. As a consistent champion at every level from novice to senior, Nathan is more experienced and steady in his mindset than most skaters!
Sure Nathan has another year of competitive battles under his belt, but that's not why he's generally calm, steady and fearless. He's always been fearless and determined. If you look at his young career, his main setbacks have been related to dealing with injuries involving bone growth problems during his adolescence. Again, I think he's learned how to control his nerves, because he's clear about what he wants to achieve and he's always been confident in his abilities. Add to that Nathan being trained by one of the best coaches and technicians in the world, coupled with Nathan's own strong competitive personality and love of jumping -- Whoa! I mean I think going forward to the Olympics (the ultimate competition of all) it will be for Nathan more a matter of logistics, strategy and the ubiquitous outside factors that are those uncontrollable aspects everyone has to deal with. Those athletes who are able to control everything within their control (such as their nerves) are usually ahead of the game.