Calm gives you access to information panic throws away.

Panic narrows attention to whatever seems most threatening, and everything outside that narrow beam gets discarded. Some of what gets discarded is exactly what you needed, the detail that would have changed your reading, the option sitting off to the side. Calm keeps the wider field available, which is why calm people often seem to know things others missed.

When you notice your focus has tightened, deliberately look around, literally or figuratively. Ask what else is true. The information was usually present the whole time and simply outside the beam.