A lot of my work has to do with not allowing my characters to have an ego in a way that the stomach doesn't have an ego when it's wanting to throw up. It just does it.
I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.
In athletics there's always been a willingness to cheat if it looks like you're not cheating. I think that's just a quirk of human nature.