Another perspective is one of phenomena that comes and goes based on the state of the environment and the progression of some underlying process, e.g. a plant that flowers and then goes dormant.
I know that personally, I experience very different levels of productivity and mental states based on the time of year. Spring brings a feeling of newness and possibility. Summer a desire to socialize and have fun in the sun. Winter is more contemplative and occasionally depressive.
I could definitely see my output as someone who writes things taking on different characteristics as the conditions around me ebb and flow.
As others have pointed out, I don’t think this variance is limited to a single notion of better/worse, but it definitely modulates my output.