curiously the reverse is (almost) true for me and the main reason is stress: passing cars stress me, squirrels are more challenging :p!
wobbling bear, I can understand that. It can be a challenged with spectators staring, yelling, cars speeding past, cars trying to pick you off, oh and yes the squirrels 
it can actually become quite the challenge, one day I rode crazier then I would have ever thought I could, idling, riding full out between cars cruising on both sides of me and all while eating an ice cream cone 
I was quite surprised
I have to say though I’ve had several close encounters with deer on trails one too close for comfort, trails challenge me.
You sure we aren’t the same person? Last week I came face to face with a deer in the middle of the trail. It was just standing there staring at me as if it had never seen a unicycle before. I got probably 10 feet away before it decided to leave. I started getting really nervous because the week before the deer encounter I saw this video on youtube:
I started to get visions of me as the dog and decided it would be best to hold the unicycle as a shield/weapon for a tense bit there. Now that it’s hunting season I’m terrified of seeing a deer - I’ll probably get caught in the crossfire.
Anyway… I went back out to that trail yesterday and though the knee took some punishment I was able to ride a bit further with shorter breaks between. I figure if I get out there enough and progress just a little each time I’ll eventually get there… or at the very least I will have wore out all my body parts that are vital for riding and I’ll be done.
No doubt!
I rarely ride roads and when I took the 36er for a spin the other day it was really sconcerting to ride along with all those cars and pedestrians watching. Of course I think I was a little worried about them driving into me, but still, I hate being watched!
But on trails that’s never a problem, nor is it a problem when I ski or board, in fact I sometimes feel like my performance improves if it’s kodak moment 
I used to get more anxious, akin to stage fright, when I was very new to the sport. I avoiding riding in front of people for fear of looking a fool i.e. falling off and going splat! So I’d only ride in quiet areas at odd times of day. Then once I started to learn riding off-road it was easy to go unnoticed as I trained on a private trail system at work where I’d see virtually nobody except for the occasional deer, wild turkey or coyote.
However, after my skill increased my confidence also naturally increased so now I don’t get quite as much pre-ride anxiety. About the only stuff I get a bit anxious about is riding in traffic, especially when I have to cross busy intersections. Riding in traffic isn’t as bad, it’s just crossing traffic!
Ironically I’ve noticed on multiple occasions where I’ve experienced the exact opposite of stage fright. I’ve actually “elevated my game” while bystanders have been watching! One quick example: Back in July I was riding the famed Slickrock trail in Moab, UT (yes it was over 100°F) and my wife and I were about 2-3 miles from the trail head (12+ mile lollipop loop). I was blasted tired, thirsty, hungry and stumbling frequently, experiencing many UPDs on even stupid easy stuff. In a word I was worn out and not known to me at the time, had a stress fracture in my heel!
Anyhow the trail was about to descend on some tricky ledges with some twists and turns and cross a 4x4 trail where there were several Jeeps with about a couple dozen tourists parked and watching me ride down the trail. I was soaking wet with sweat, bone tired and injured, yet I nailed the tricky line (having never seen it before, this was my first time on this trail) hitting drop after drop off these ledges and kept on the trail right past the group of gawkers. As I rode past they all spontaneously applauded and cheered me on! Wow what a boost!
I got just out of sight of the group, around a bend in the trail, and immediately UPDd! Ha! My heart rate was through the roof and I immediately sought out some shade (hard to come by).
My wife who’d been running along with me the entire way, having seen all my crashes and steadily deteriorating condition could not believe I suddenly rose to the occasion! She just called me a show off and then sat down in the shade next to me!
So with extreme confidence in your skill you can rise to the occasion. It’s different for everybody, but what works for me is to just “turn my brain off” and not think; just do!
I’ve experienced this phenomenon multiple times over to know it’s not a one time thing or a fluke.
My best advice is to keep practicing and grow more confident in your skill and also don’t over think it.
I run into deer all the time, once last year not while riding a uni my dog and I ran into one deer (female I think she was protecting her young) that snorted and bucked at us. I try not to ride early morning anymore due to one instance on the uni but seems like many times, and several trails I find one or two deer in front of me.
Glad you were able to get further. I’m sure in no time you will just keep on going.
That is exactly what happens to me in traffic MuniSano, I guess elevating my game so as not to crash and burn in front of people, unfortunately I have done that too :o The last time I rode it was like someone else was on my uni, my confidence took over, I was idling in between people, cars it was awesome. As you said, I didn’t think about it but just did it. I think much of my problem is over thinking, especially Muni and thats where my preride anxiety seems to kick in. 
survived the deer, the squirrel nearly took me out.
see my post in the Animal Confrontations thread.
The deer I can see coming. A varmint can be out of the bush and under your wheel in a millisecond. Talk about anxiety. Paranoia will destroy ya. More in the Animal Confrontations thread.
This was on Yahoo and I thought about your post…this is crazy
Don’t know how I would have handled the close deer encounter if I had seen that video beforehand.