The 48-year-old is tied on seven world titles with Stephen Hendry as he prepares to make his 32nd appearance in the sport’s showpiece event, and takes on Jackson Page in the first round.
He has enjoyed a stellar season but admitted he needs “a bit of help” and has started working with Nic Barrow, a former professional and founder of ‘The Snooker Gym’.
“I’ve been trying to think how I want the next five to 10 years to be,” O’Sullivan said. “I’ve been working with a coach and we’ve done a lot of testing in some ways, and I’ve realised I don’t know much about snooker.
“I thought I did. I know how to get a ball in a hole, and I know how to compete and win it, and I’ve got an idea of what needs to happen – I know I have to get this bit of wood and this ball and if I do this, that should happen.
“But I haven’t been that efficient in the last few years and I’ve just tried to accept that I needed a bit of help, so I’ve gone back to a coach that worked with my old coach, and I’m going back through the stuff that worked for me.”
O’Sulliivan has amassed a record 41 ranking titles and can become just the fourth player to win snooker’s three Triple Crown events in the same season if he triumphs in the Steel City, with Steve Davis, Hendry and Mark Williams previously achieving the feat.
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“I like to win and I’ve got another five to 10 years, and I’ve got to enjoy the work that I’m doing,” he added. “I know I’ve won tournaments but winning and playing to a certain standard don’t always match up.
“I’ve played a lot better and not won anything all season. It doesn’t really make sense but I haven’t really enjoyed it, I’ve just been struggling to get through the ball smoothly.
“Being happy with the game is what it’s all about, or if that’s not the case, I’ve got to get around not playing well and accept it, but I’m not good at accepting it.
“There’s two ways to come at it, from a technical point of view with the help of Steve [Peters, psychiatrist], or if I can’t do that, I’ve got to accept that I am where I am and not let it wind me up. That’s the worst-case scenario.
“There’s another one, saying I’m not bothered, but I’m not quite ready for that.”
The World Snooker Championship begins on Saturday April 20, with all the action from the Crucible live on Eurosport and discovery+.