I agree. I don't think someone else winning would have decreased the pressure much for the reasons you mentioned especially if he puts the 4Lz into his programs next season. I think the most pressure is really coming from himself, the self-inflicted pressure of having this goal you have set for yourself that has driven everything you have done. I think he performs well with this type of pressure though. Ever since he was a kid, his impossible checklist has been: 1) medal at Sochi, 2) gold at Pyeongchang, 3) become a top skater, 4) break world records, 5) do something for the first time, 6) 4A in competition. Amazing to think how one by one these have fallen in the ~10 years since and now all that is left is 2) and 6).