As the Curtain Falls
What Stephen Colbert’s Rituals Teach Us About Pressure and Performance
This week CBS made a surprise announcement that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will come to an end in May 2026. After 33 years of cultural commentary and nightly performances, this chapter in late night television will close. They told us it wasn’t because of ratings or relevance, but due to financial decisions in a changing media landscape.
Stephen Colbert broke the news to his live audience himself, triggering a chorus of boos, before offering his signature grace, “The folks at CBS have been great partners. And of course, I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here, out there, all around the world.”
Colbert will be remembered as one of the most brilliant and thoughtful comedic commentators of his generation. But there’s another reason I often bring his name up in conversations about excellence, and that is his awesome pre-performance routine.
.The unseen architecture of greatness
Before every show, Colbert goes through a series of specific and deeply personal steps. They're so intricate they read like something between superstition and sacred ritual. He gets his hair and makeup done. He goes to the bathroom and rings a hotel style bell, saying “have a good show.” His producer replies with the same line every night, “squeeze out some sunshine.” He then walks backstage, touching the hand of every crew member, ending with the teleprompter operator. He opens a box of Bic pens (a discontinued model that his staff used to scour the globe to find), chews the top of one, places it back in the box, slaps himself in the face twice, stares at a fixed spot on the wall, and only then steps onto the stage.
Anchoring the mind
It sounds a little bit ridiculous and like it’s overkill, why is he doing what he’s doing, what does any of it mean? Let me explain. Like athletes bouncing the basketball before a free throw or surgeons going through a checklist before an operation, Colbert’s ritual is part of a psychological phenomenon that science recognises as a pre-performance routine. These are repeatable, intention rich behaviours that anchor the mind, prepare the body, and signal to the self that ‘ it’s time.’
Ritual as readiness
What separates world class performers from everyone else is very rarely their talent, it’s the way they prepare to fully express it when it counts, how they bring their ability to life under pressure. Research across dozens of sports and performance domains (from Olympic diving to surgery) has shown that people who use structured, consistent pre-performance routines perform better. These routines help focus attention, block distractions, stabilise emotions, and trigger the body’s practiced excellence. They tell the brain that it’s time to switch on, that now is where the magic begins.
The tyranny of mood
In one study of divers, those who spent more time on their board following a precise routine before jumping received consistently higher scores. In another, athletes taught to implement routines showed measurable improvements compared to a control group. These routines reduce the tyranny of mood. They protect you from intrusive thoughts, pressure, self doubt, and perfectionism. They help you drop into flow.
Ritual vs routine
Colbert’s routine includes task related elements (makeup, warmup) and non task related rituals (chewing the Bic pen, slapping his face). In performance psychology, the distinction matters, a routine is task specific, aiding in execution. A ritual may have no obvious logic, but it soothes the mind, builds control, and brings meaning to the moment.
Repetition creates familiarity
Let’s look at Colbert’s chewing of the pen top or ringing a bell before the show. There’s no performance science behind them. But their repetition creates familiarity, a soothing rhythm, a sense of control in a high pressure fast moving environment environment. This is what Wade Boggs did with his 5:17 PM batting practices, or Rafa Nadal with his hyper precise service rituals. It’s what surgeons do with checklists, and comedians do pacing backstage in the five minutes before showtime.
The psychology of performance
Pre-performance routines work for three main reasons. They reduce mental clutter. Instead of worrying about the magnitude of the task, or the pressure of the moment, you’re focusing on what’s next in your ritual. Next they shift attention inward. The external noise fades and the only thing that matters is your sequence, your breath, your steps. They also prime flow. The repeated sequence becomes a trigger. Just like Pavlov’s bell, your body knows that it’s time to perform.
Even Jerry Seinfeld, decades into his career, still reviews notes backstage, puts on his jacket five minutes before the show, and walks in a pattern to get into rhythm. “The audience will take care of the rest,” he says. But only if he’s centred first.
A legacy beyond laughter
As Colbert prepares to exit the late night stage, he leaves behind not just one of the most intelligent comedic bodies of work, but a legacy of what it means to show up, prepared and present, able to perform under pressure night after night. His rituals might seem quirky to all of us, but they were his nightly commitments, to his craft, to consistency, to the process.
Own the moment before it begins
Everyone today is looking for a quick hack and instant results, but true greatness is often built in the unseen hours, in the repeatable rituals that no one else notices but that shape everything.
Whether you’re stepping onto a stage, a field, or into a big meeting, prepare your mind as well as your material. Build your ritual, own your process, and trust that your best begins long before the moment arrives. It starts when you’re getting ready.