Why does cross-examination still rattle me if I know my testimony cold?

You know the facts. You have said them calmly in the quiet room, with your pod, with no one raising their voice. Then a stranger leans in, raises his voice, twists your words back at you, and something in you flinches. You call this a flaw. It is not a flaw. It is an untrained muscle. Notice what actually happens to you. Your breath shortens. Your certainty wavers, not because the facts changed, but because someone applied force to your composure and your composure had never been tested under force before. This is not about your case. It is about your nervous system meeting a new kind of weather. You are not alone in this room, and you should not train alone either. Bring your pod. Let them play the hostile attorney. Let them raise their voices at you on purpose, again and again, until the sound of aggression stops meaning danger and starts meaning Tuesday.