It's a lot easier to deal with a bit of input lag than it is to go to a tourney setting and deal with the smell (I will always remember the stench of the anime room at NEC, worse than being near a cosplayer who wore the same costume 4 days in 90 degree heat) and folks yelling at you, the lack of sleep, unfamiliar bed, and other things.
Also, if it's early in a game's development- usually adaptation/knowledge skills trump setplay/oki/execution. It's later in a game's development when the latter become the dominant factor.
It's why majors are harder than locals- locals tend to be more respectful than majors because the people know each other.
Being able to play under those types of suboptimal conditions is one of the real things to me that separates a pro player from just a good player.
The only way to get that experience is to suffer through those conditions, unless you're one of those folks who naturally thrives in that environment.
