In October 1978, Cox was paralyzed from the waist down following a serious off-road Jeep accident in the rainforest on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. He eventually regained the ability to walk but wore a harness of steel bars and leather straps for six months. He still has two metal screws in his back, and according to a 2005 "Fortune" magazine profile, “has been in pain every day for the past 27 years.” Since he can't sit for extended periods of time, he has a special desk that allows him to work while standing.