I learned to fly a Piper Cherokee before I went to Army flight school. The instructors regarded me the dumbest student pilot they had ever seen. As a result, I flew like I knew I really was the stupidest pilot - my survival depended upon following every last one of the rules & maintaining all the safety crosschecks and knowing all my emergency procedures, because I wasn’t clever or bold enough to attempt any risky maneuvers in the aircraft.
Hmmm.....and now I’m still here.
There are old pilots (divers, climbers, etc.) and bold pilots.
But no old, bold pilots