If he did, he knew, his election was all but assured, and at the time his path seemed to have reached a dead end in Washington: stuck in the House now for almost a decade, with little chance of any imminent advancement to its hierarchy, he seemed to have no chance of stepping into a Senate seat.
"It was another chance of stepping up and racing at the Olympics and that within itself was pretty something that is pretty special," McEvoy said afterwards.
Unlike some managers who view the Europa League as an unwelcome addition to an already packed schedule - especially at the start of the season - the Newcastle manager is relishing the chance of stepping up to the challenge.
Instead, he used the occasion as a national Sabbath — as a chance to step out of the torrent of events and reflect.
The commission gave father and son a chance to step out of their everyday roles of director and dancer and work as equals.
But from the architect's perspective, working with mainstream developers is also a chance to step out of the narrow confines of high culture and have a more direct impact on centers of everyday life that were once outside their reach, from shopping malls to entire business districts.
Passage would give thousands of undocumented men and women, who otherwise face very bleak futures, a chance to step out of the shadows and become taxpayers and citizens of the only country they have really ever known.
Whatever its inspiration, the Bach concerto will give Mr. Shin a chance to step out of his accompanist role into a soloist role.
"The big brands we work with have their images carefully crafted and don't take a chance to step out of the box too often," he adds.
With Kwan and Hughes preparing for this week's Grand Prix final in Japan, Nikodinov had a chance to step out of her understudy role.
