gotten a little scarier with age. >> if i'm having an off day and something gives out on take off i'm 20 feet up in the air -- >> reporter: you can really hurt yourself. >> there are consequences. and like these scars on my face and things. i know now with age, like, what the consequence can be. >> reporter: after spending most of the last few years away from the sport the road back to competition was rocky. >> almost goes down. >> reporter: white now grappling with the realization that he's no longer the one to beat. his arch-rival of japan recently landed the first ever triple cork in competition. >> there he goes. >> it's just wild this trick is happening right now because i attempted it in 2013. it didn't go well. i think i was like 2 1/2 flips realized i wasn't in a good position and opened up and i caught the top of the wall. >> reporter: this is something we could