Alex put a lot of effort into this feat, which as far as I'm aware no one else ever seriously even attempted to train for. Listening to him speak it is obvious that he has closer relationship with his own mortality than most people, even other extreme sports enthusiasts. I think it is too convenient to look at someone like Alex and try to attribute their accomplishments to them being a freak of nature in some way, as opposed to being a normal person who just dedicated themselves to the problem more than anyone else, not to mention that it is doubtful our understanding of neurology is even good enough to make such claims in the first place, so I remain skeptical.