The 23-year-old spent much of the past two years flying solo, taking on the world's best on the cut-throat global circuit.

It saw Cox take on the role of coach, physio and manager, the snowboarder required to juggle many hats while his rivals could focus solely on competition.

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Despite the disadvantage, the Illawarra talent held his own and booked a place at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

That campaign didn't exactly go to plan, Cox bowing out in the qualifying round of both the snowboard slopestyle and big air events.

It's a result that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"It definitely pissed me off," Cox said. "The way it played out pissed me off. I think if it went well I would've been quite complacent coming home but it's put me in a mindset where I've realised how hungry I was at those Games.

"At the next Games I want to be that hungry and I want to be so ready for it. I think I will have more people around me that will have the right inputs that will create an environment where I can succeed."

Instead of travelling home immediately after the Olympics, Cox returned to Europe to begin some soul-searching.

That soul-searching, of course, was conducted on the slopes of Sweden, Finland and anywhere else he could find snow.

There he was able to snowboard without the pressure of competition hanging over his head.

"To have a period to do what you love to do in your sport and not have it planned out was so great. The past 2-3 years have been so structured, it was nice to be like 'I'm waking up today, am I going to ride a jump, will I be in Sweden the next day, will I be in Finland?'

"It was so needed for me. To have the Olympic comedown, to mellow out, it was the best thing for me. It kept me thinking 'okay, I am still so hungry for this'."

While carving it up in Europe, Cox found clarity in his path moving forward.

The disappointment of his Beijing campaign lit a fire inside him.

At just 23-years-old, Cox knows his best is still to come and he's confident he will be at his peak at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.

This time, however, he needs some help getting there. This time, he'd like a coach to share in the journey, to provide crucial words of advice and to ease some of that mental load the athlete has carried for so long.

"I was watching everyone else have interactions with their teams and then it was just me solo doing the job of the coach, of the physio, of the manager. It was such a heavy load to take on all season long.

"I am grateful for it, because I feel I've come out knowing when I find the coach I want to work with full time, I'll understand what they're going through and I can help them.

"I've been talking to a couple of coaches, it's still up for negotiation. The hardest thing is trying to find funding for a coach. I need to find some revenue, I need to talk to a few different people, hopefully get some new sponsors on board that want to get behind my 2026 campaign.

"I'm beyond excited to build the team around me for the next Games."

While he has one eye on 2026, Cox is determined to enjoy the here and now.

He returned to the Illawarra last week for the first time in 10 months. A surf quickly followed, while numerous trips to the Australian ski fields are sure to take place throughout the winter.

They might not compare internationally to the slopes of Europe or North America, but for Cox, there's no place like home.

"A lot of people are over the Australian ski fields but I get so excited for the Australian winter.

"I say every year I'm not going down for opening weekend, but I always am. I'll be down there this year, I already know it."

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