They have been around the competitive ice dance world so long it would be easy for Madison Chock and Evan Bates to develop a sense of ennui, a sense of been there, done that, of thinking how can their 1,000th practice or seventh appearance at the U.S. stop on the Grand Prix circuit be anything more that a forgettable way station on the trip to their ultimate goal.

It's just such an attitude that the winners of the last three world titles have been consciously rejecting as they prepare to skate together in a fourth Olympics this February in Milan, Italy, where they would seek the one thing missing from their sparkling résumé: an ice dance Olympic medal (preferably a gold one.)

“Our perspective has shifted over the four Olympic cycles we’ve been through,” Bates said at the recent U.S. Olympic Committee media summit in New York City.

“There’s more of an appreciation for the difficult times than what we’ve had in the past. We recognize the value of each and every moment, the good ones and the bad ones alike.”

Over the past three-plus seasons, the bad moments mainly have been blips. They have finished either first (14 times) or second (4) in their 18 competitions since a third place at the 2022 World Championships a month after their fourth at the Olympics. Yet each blip, even those in triumphs, provides something new to focus on going forward.

Chock and Bates are coming to the Saatva Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., after winning the Cup of China in late October with their second-lowest total score (208.25) since October 2022.

They lost points for mistakes on four of the nine elements in the free skate. It is a flamenco-inspired interpretation of the orchestrally rearranged version of the Rolling Stones “Paint it Black” used in the TV series, "Westworld." The judges’ scores provided them necessary feedback after what was the first public performance of their Olympic year programs.

“We really make a lot of tweaks and changes to a program (over the season),” Chock said at the media summit. “We make the decisions based on how much time we have, what we feel we want to change, what would be more comfortable for us, what would set us up for success for the next competition. 

“We make a list, like a priority list, of things we want to adjust before Skate America, or things we want to adjust for the (Grand Prix) final and nationals and so on. It is a constant evolution.”

Coincidentally, their lowest total score in three years (205.63) also came in a mistake-riddled season debut in an upset loss at Skate America a year ago. They would improve that total by more than 16 points in winning the 2025 worlds.

At ages 33 (Chock) and 36 (Bates), in their 15th competitive season together, they have learned not to overreact to a set of scores or a surprising runner-up finish.

Should Chock and Bates win Olympic gold, each would be the oldest ice dancer of their respective sex to stand atop the podium. Just by stepping onto the Milan ice, Bates, who turns 37 a day after the 2026 Winter Games end, will join four others for most Olympic appearances for a figure skater.

“I feel old, but I don’t think about it often,” Bates said.

As the greybeards on the likely U.S. team, Chock and Bates feed off the enthusiasm of their younger teammates. But there is a pop cultural generation gap even with 26-year-old Amber Glenn, the two-time reigning U.S. women’s singles champion.

“Alysa (Liu, 20, the reigning world champion) and Amber were talking about something the other day, and it was like a foreign language to me,” Chock said. “I'm like, 'Are you guys speaking English?’ I don't understand anything you just said.”

Chock and Bates have refused to go stodgy as performers. Their free dances regularly have incorporated cutting-edge creativity, some of it coming from costumes Chock designed.

“We always try to think of something different,” Bates said. “It can be really challenging, especially having a long career. The challenge is like reinvention, not repeating yourself.”

In this season’s free dance, he is a bull, and she is a matador, both dressed in costumes she designed. Hers has a flowing black-and-scarlet skirt that acts as the bullfighter’s cape. There also are metallic highlights at the skirt’s waist and on the modified Bolero jacket that reflect the classic idea of the matador’s outfit being a “suit of lights.” His costume is in shades of brown, with the bull’s horns depicted at the sleeve tops.

So you get some role reversal (although there are woman matadors) presented in a tableau with a color scheme that allows Chock to evoke images of both a bullfighter and a flamenco dancer.

“You can express so much of your personality through what you wear on the ice,” Chock said. “That's what is unique about our sport. Since I love design, it just makes sense that I designed what we wear on the ice.”

Whatever happens in Milan, their Olympic career will include a gold medal. It is from the team event at 2022 Winter Games, awarded under singular circumstances at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

The delay owed to the doping case of Russian singles star Kamila Valieva and the seemingly interminable adjudication process before a ruling disqualified her results in the team event and moved Team USA from silver to gold.

Given the timing of the medal presentation, it was like an unexpected wedding present for Chock and Bates, married six weeks earlier. Posing with it before friends, families and a large crowd against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower was a lot more memorable and lasting image than what would have been an essentially private ceremony in COVID-restricted Beijing.

“To have it has been life-changing,” Chock said. “It has definitely helped us to have the many amazing sponsors we have this season.”

That list includes Coca-Cola, Ralph Lauren, Topps, Nulo and Lilly (for Chock only), with another sponsor expected to be announced soon. They have shot a commercial for pet food Nulo, with their two toy poodles, Henry and Stella.

The dogs provided needed companionship when they left their longtime training base in Detroit for a new coaching team in Montreal after a highly disappointing ninth place at the 2018 Winter Games.

“We were at a low point, and we really didn't know what the future held for us,’’ Bates said. “We weren't sure if we were going to move to Montreal. We weren't sure if we were going to continue at all. Maddie had an ankle that needed surgical repair.

“Looking back on the move to Montreal, it’s kind of a feeling like we had a renaissance, fell in love with the sport again, got healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally and came back and ended up winning a gold medal with the team in Beijing. I think that four-year span is always going to be a really pivotal time in our lives.”

It led to this cycle, the one with one success after another, the one that made them the first ice dance team in 28 years to win three consecutive world titles.

This year, they face two extra challenges.

One is trying not to be overwhelmed by a sense of finality in what they have suggested will be their final competitive season – but is just the second season of their married life.

“Skating and winning an Olympic gold medal was always the top priority, and it still is for us,” Bates said. “But the focus on our relationship and the understanding of how that pursuit of excellence benefits our relationship, especially if we allow it to, has become more of a priority.

“Through this Olympic year, we want to enjoy all the little moments, enjoy each event as we build towards Milan. The skating career is short and finite, and the relationship is much, much longer.”

The other challenge is facing one of the deepest fields of Olympic ice dance medal contenders ever, with as many as six teams seemingly in the running.

The competition was enhanced by the return from a three-year retirement of 2022 Olympic champion Guillaume Cizeron of France with a new partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry of Canada, who won their Grand Prix debut with this season’s world-leading score. She received French citizenship just last week.

Four of those six apparent medal contenders, including Chock/Bates and Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron, train under the same coaching team at the Ice Academy of Montreal.

“The spirit of competition is always healthy,” Bates said. “Part of the reason why we've been able to enjoy success is because we've had tough competition through the years.

“We know how motivating and how inspiring the Olympic Games are. That pull seems to bring people out of retirement.

“I mean, we’re going for fifth (Bates) and fourth (Chock) Olympics. It's been a huge motivator and a driving force in everything that we've done in our lives.”

Philip Hersh is a special contributor to NBCOlympics.com. He has covered figure skating at the last 12 Winter Olympics.