The other lesson is that often the people that succeed are people who can lean into the intensity and are OK with it. For example, look at someone like Michael Jordan -- extremely competitive. But its almost as if that's their fuel. And when they leave competitive environments then they miss them. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates seem to have some of that in them too.
That said, its not something I have. I'm OK not being the world's best at something -- I'm OK just enjoying riding my bike through the park.