because you are in front of an audience. sometimes magic happens and it's an amazing experience. other times not so. but, in that situation, there may be others that are there who take the whole experience as a challenge. sometimes that challenge is directed from one player to another. a bass player listening to another bass player that is jamming may compare the bass playing to their playing. that turns the experience into a competition between players.
one thing i know is that music is not a sport. it is not about keeping score. there is no place for competition when it comes to music. if anything, we should all be 