How do I handle the pressure of elite competition?

You can perform, and now you are up against people just as good, where the pressure finds every limit you have. That exposure feels brutal, but it is the whole point of competing at this level. You only find your real edges against people who can reach them. The pressure is not the enemy here. The story you tell about it is. When your body floods with nerves, that is not fear ruining you, it is your system getting ready. The best competitors feel the same surge you do. They have just stopped reading it as a warning and started reading it as fuel. Same feeling, different meaning. So train the pressure like you train the skill. Before your next high-stakes moment, pick one small routine, a breath, a word, a gesture, and do it every single time right before you go. It gives your mind something steady to hold when everything else spikes. Limits exposed under pressure are not a verdict. They are just the next thing to work on.