Zoe’s sister Izzy claimed slopestyle bronze in Pyeongchang in 2018.
It gave Britain a first skiing medal at a Winter Olympics – 16 years after Alain Baxter lost his slalom bronze when he failed a drugs test after using an over-the-counter nasal decongestant that he believed to be permitted.
Zoe was watching from the stands eight years ago in South Korea with her parents, and her sister’s achievements spurred her on to pursue her own skiing career.
“Working with a sports psychologist?has been important – when I was younger, I felt more intense fear, which was a barrier to performance,” Atkin says.
“I am pretty young still, but?there were a lot of expectations internally, things I want to achieve.”
She heads into the Games as the reigning world champion and this season has finished on the podium in each of the World Cups, including a win at Copper Mountain and claimed gold at the X Games.
“Now?I’ve?won?things,?surely?I?shouldn’t?be afraid and I should have confidence?” she says.
“But no matter how established you are, there’s?always a comfort zone you need to push to progress.?It’s?always a continuous progress, a journey I now have more fully embraced.”
Atkin has been fortunate in that she has avoided serious injuries, unlike her sister who broke her pelvis just before the 2022 Winter Olympics and has since retired from competitive skiing.
GB team-mate Kirsty Muir has also had her fair share of injuries.
The 21-year-old competes in ski slopestyle and big air. She rides rails and performs tricks of large ramps.
She knows?all too well about the horrors of?serious injury?in the line of duty.
In December 2023, a scan revealed that repeated blows to her knee had resulted in a torn cruciate ligament, ruling her out for a year.
Muir, having “never not skied for that long in my life”, says she is fit and firing for Milan-Cortina – but admits the road back was hard.
“The sport progresses continually, so having that much time off was difficult,” Muir tells BBC Sport.
Muir has won World Cup events in ski slopestyle and big air this season and also won at the X Games but is no stranger to the occasional crash landing.
The key to overcoming that fear, she says, is accepting they will happen.
“The injury wasn’t my scariest, as it didn’t happen at a specific moment,” she says. “It’s more when things out of your control go wrong.
“I’ve had skis come off my feet or my goggles come over my eyes when about to jump, and I’ve been flying through the air without skis on my feet.?That is a weird feeling.
“We are good at adapting to situations, not thinking about it until it happens.?There is no point in worrying?- be prepared, then adapt.”
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