Difficult moments reward the person whose mind stays available.

In a hard moment, most of what determines the outcome is whether you can still think. Everything else, your knowledge, your skills, your judgment, sits behind that one gate, and if it closes you are operating on reflex regardless of how well prepared you were. Keeping your mind available is the first task, before any of the specific actions.

Notice what tends to close that gate for you, whether it is being shouted at, feeling responsible, or simply being surprised. Then find one thing that reliably reopens it, a breath, a step back, a question. Knowing your own switch is worth a great deal.