A dejected Kelly Slater admits he's finding it hard to be inspired after 22 years on the world surfing tour and hopes to reboot before the season's final round in December.
The 41-year-old's hopes of a 12th world title were dealt a huge blow on Monday after a shock second-round elimination from the Rip Curl Pro at Supertubos.
Local talent Frederico Morais outscored Slater 12.34 to 10.13 in one-metre waves, leaving the American frustrated and despondent.
"I'm just having trouble being very inspired by the surf in the last three events. My performance probably shows that," Slater said.
"I'm not trying to say anything bad but sometimes you just get frustrated with the conditions you have no control over.
"After 20 years, it's hard to really care when it's like this."
His 25th-placing at the penultimate event of 2013 has earned him just 500 championship points - well short of the 6000 he needs to catch up to Australia's rankings leader Mick Fanning.
Fanning only needs to reach the semi-finals to secure his third world crown. An earlier exit would force a final-round decider at the the iconic Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii in December.
"We've got almost two months now, so I'm going to go do some rehab, get my body back together and try to get my mind back in it," Slater said.
"If this week works out, great. If not, well Mick has been the great performer of the year.
"Obviously his results have been great at every event - it's hard to beat a guy like that."
