Having had the rest of the day to think about this I think that the most competent pilots have good situational awareness and spare capacity to deal with unexpected events. Not just as in knowing where you are and where you are going but what you are going to do if x or y happens. If you have no plan what to do if x or y happens then make one. I suppose as you gain more experience then more possibilities of x and y occuring crop up; so you just carry more 'x and y occurring' plans in your head.
My head is fairly empty of x and y plans as I haven't had the experiences yet to realise the need for another x and y plan to carry in my head. Although they are gathering pace.
Personally I always prepare for the worst when flying, such as a fanstop etc, then when it doesn't happen I'm pleasantly surprised. I always have a landable field in view though. Gliding habit.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the old adage 'Superior pilots use their superior knowledge to stay out of situations that require the use of their superior skill'.