It is a well-known phenomenon that people generally perform more poorly in competition than in practice. As such, I don't doubt the general veracity of what you've said, but I myself have the opposite problem. I've competed so much that I don't seem to get amped up at all anymore. I haven't cared since high school about winning or losing, but embarrassing myself, my school, and my friends by under-performing is counter-productive and interferes with (as you put it) the pursuit of excellence for myself and others.
I was also surprised that you were so conplacent and yet received no conplaints about your conparatively ironic thread title.