Going second isn’t losing. You get to learn from whoever went first.

Being first gets treated as the prize, but first is also the one paying for the information. They find the bad question, the wrong approach, the thing the teacher actually wanted, and everybody behind them gets it free. Second place in order is often first place in understanding.

When you are not up yet, use the time instead of spending it on nerves. Watch what landed and what did not for the person ahead of you, and change one thing in your own version before your turn. Presentations, tryouts, interviews, all the same.