Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning Individual zones of optimal functioning explain how athletes with different personality types, sports of events, and motivation levels perform at different arousal levels, the theory explains how some athletes perform at their best with low arousal levels whereas others perform at their best with high arousal levels, it also shows how some athletes perform at their best with mild arousal levels. To optimise performance an athlete should find at what arousal level they perform best at try and get to this arousal level during the performance so they can perform at their best. This theory can be used to explain why some athletes perform well during really important matches and why some other athletes perform well in friendly's or not important games then don't perform well in big games. Also, some athletes may notice that feeling excited is not conducive to performing well, while others would say that feeling angry helps them to re