With the mountains closed and the halfpipes shuttered during a pandemic that turned the world and its sports upside down, Shaun White put double-corks on hold and saved his most intense workouts for his mind.

He鈥檇 be the first to concede he needed that kind of break.

Now 34, and gearing up for a run at a fourth Olympic gold medal, White looked around after his latest victory, in 2018, and saw too much 鈥� on his calendar, coming out of his pocketbook, in the way he lived.

What has followed over the ensuing three years was a reboot in the way he thinks, does business and defines success in a snowboarding career that, by almost any measure, is the most successful in history.

鈥淚 know how it sounds,鈥� White said in a wide-ranging interview on the eve of the Winter X Games. 鈥淏ut more isn鈥檛 always better. I had six cars. I thought, 鈥楧ude, I only have one ass.鈥� Our culture in the US is, get the big house, get this, get that. But your world becomes cluttered that way.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 only the physical possessions that started to feel a bit overwhelming. It was the calendar, too. White struggled at the 2014 Olympics. During the run-up to those games in Russia, he committed to trying to win two gold medals 鈥� in halfpipe and the newly introduced slopestyle competition. But he ended up with none. He rebooted that time, too, and focused only on the halfpipe for 2018. When the chips were down in Pyeongchang, White had just enough left in the tank at the end of that contest to throw the best, most difficult run of his life and win his third gold.

In the aftermath, he saw his plate filling up again 鈥� namely in a quest to compete in skateboarding at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It became too unwieldy and too unrealistic a project.

鈥淚 thought, I don鈥檛 know if I want to bet fully on this, and snowboard was sitting there, so I decided I had to make some tough decisions and I鈥檓 going to focus on snowboard,鈥� White said.

Now, the clock is ticking. There are less than 13 months until the start of the Beijing Games. White practiced at the X Games and was planning to compete, but hours before last Sunday鈥檚 contest he said he 鈥渢weaked鈥� his knee during practice and was pulling out. He said he came to Aspen not so much concerned with a result, but just for a chance to check out the competition and also 鈥渢o show the general population who might think I鈥檓 not riding anymore, that I鈥檓 very, very much still into it.鈥�

White came to the X Games without a snowboard deal for the first time since he was 7. It allowed him to plaster a picture of his niece Charli on a bottom panel that, for decades, featured the word 鈥淏urton.鈥� He鈥檚 now tinkering with his own snowboard designs. He admits to having no preconceived notions about where that will go. He considers himself less of a pitchman these days, more of a behind-the-scenes investor. His guitar career has long been on hold, and though the series of Air & Style events he co-owns remains a working operation, much of that has also been put on the back burner because of the pandemic.

鈥淚鈥檓 a snowboarder,鈥� he said when asked what, exactly, he considers himself. 鈥淎nd I hate to say 鈥榚ntrepreneur,鈥� but it鈥檚 just investing in brands and keeping the rest of the slate clean right now. Instead of looking at the short term, it鈥檚 looking at the next 10 years and seeing things I might want to be part of in the long run.鈥�

Though he鈥檚 seriously contemplating the 2026 Olympics in Italy 鈥� which would be a tidy bookend to an Olympic career that started 20 years earlier in the same country 鈥� White seems content with the reality that he鈥檚 closer to the end of his career than the beginning he鈥檚 hoping to approach 2022 differently than some Olympic years past 鈥� namely, by acknowledging it鈥檚 still very important to him, but viewing it more as a point on the timeline than the end of it.

鈥淵ou put so much expectation on a delayed future reward, and you either get it and say 鈥極K, what鈥檚 next?鈥� Or sometimes when you don鈥檛 get it, it鈥檚 almost easier because you go 鈥極h, well, we鈥檙e gonna do it next time,鈥� and it gives you new purpose,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut what happens when you get it, then you get it again?鈥�

Those were some of the questions he came face-to-face with during a few days he spent last year with fellow sports stars, Tom Brady and Michael Phelps, headlining a panel at a self-help seminar.

That self-help experience sparked a follow-up visit, which, in many ways, led to a complete change in White鈥檚 mental approach.

鈥淚 went there solo,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had the hood up. I thought, I鈥檒l go incognito, I鈥檒l go in, get a couple tidbits and leave. The first thing (they do) is say 鈥楪o hug 10 people.鈥� Right at that point, I鈥檓 not under the radar anymore. There were some awesome, simple lessons, and the big part was, you鈥檝e got to work at this. Do the exercise.鈥�

A bonus from the sessions: It鈥檚 where White met his girlfriend Nina Dobrev of 鈥淰ampire Diaries鈥� fame. They went public with their relationship last spring, and during the interview, White repeatedly came back to advice Dobrev has given him, and the calming influence she has lent to his often-hectic life.

He says the pandemic has allowed him to slow down. He鈥檚 spending a lot of time with Dobrev, 鈥渁nd hanging with Toby and J.J., and feeling good about things,鈥� White said of his buddy, 20-year-old snowboarder Toby Miller, and their coach, 2002 Olympic bronze medalist J.J. Thomas.

When not working on his mental/emotional outlook, White has used the extra time to sharpen skills in the kitchen. He spoke of a truffle risotto he鈥檚 trying to perfect and a parsley-lemon-Dijon garlic sauce for a salmon dish. That one, he said, might be nearing a 鈥�10.鈥�

As White delves into the trials and travails of his new pastime, cooking, it seems as though he could just as easily be talking about snowboarding 鈥� or business 鈥� or relationships 鈥� or life in general.

鈥淚鈥檓 just nervous 鈥� I don鈥檛 want to hurt anybody,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou worry about something not being prepared properly. But once you clear that fear, it becomes a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable.鈥�