Don't make a joke about it
He's right. I play baseball, and although it can be a dull sport to watch, there can be an insane amount of pressure on one person for prolonged periods of time, and it really does help in very high intensity situations, whether it's performing for 1 or 100 strangers, to take a breather for a couple seconds to slow and calm your nerves.
keep in mind, this doesn't necessarily work for just magic.
~Beans