Thanks for your perspective! I agree that it’s often the new skills that suffer from the time off. One thing I wanted to note: I don’t mean to say that we should all keep our noses to the grindstone. That’s just a recipe for burnout. We all need time off.
My question was intended to be a thought experiment. How would I know what things I need to practice the most? Perhaps they are those things that suffer the most from absence.

Thanks again for your great feedback!
Tom

But any new skills or things I was working on can slip and I realise I’ve not quite got it.

The most important thing though, if that a break restores enthusiasm, and the distance helps you get away from the coalface, to put things back in perspective. We can perform on demand but it’s hard to enthusiastic on demand… maybe peak performance is a sign we need a break.