In high school, from my freshman year on, I was the #1 tuba player at my high school. I studied with Gene Pokorny (now with the Chicago Symphony) when he was a student at the University of Redlands, before he transferred to USC.
In Junior College (San Bernardino Valley College), it was much the same. At that time, I studied with Jim Self. He always let me know that I wasn't the best tuba player he had.
I went to a small university in the South and, guess what? I had real competition for the first time in my life! I thought I was serious, but that wasn't true. I dropped out of college and joined the Army.
In the Army, when I went through the School of Music at Little Creek, Virginia, I was number 1 tuba in all the bands I played with. I learned to work hard, but I knew I had so much work to do to get where I really knew I could be.
My rank held me back a lot in the Army... While I was the "best" player, I wasn't the number 1 player because of my low rank. Everyone in the tuba section seemed to get promoted at the same time, so when I got promoted, I got more money, but my status in the band remained the same. I did play in the jazz ensemble. No one knew that tuba players could play improvised jazz that wasn't a Dixieland bass line--I could do that, too. I worked my tail off.
When I finally went back to college, I went to a small university where I was not only the only tuba player--I was the only music major. There were many
music minors, but only one
major! Because of my age, I was able to work some real playing jobs, which I won't describe here, but they were lots of fun.
Later, I played for professional symphonies and bands, as well as pickup gigs, such as weddings and funerals. You can never stop playing. You have to use it or you'll lose it. And there will always be somebody better than you, in something.