What makes people calm & cool?
What works for me: relax the muscles; breathe deeply; stop the inner screaming; take time; imagine a larger context.
What separates people who are naturally calm & cool from those who use other methods to achieve it?
Probably habits. I would guess some people have a habit of doing the things like I mentioned; other people like me have to consciously remind themselves to do it.
But it also depends on the environment. It is easier to be calm if you have no real problems (unless you already have strong habits from the past when you had).
This thread is for asking any questions that might seem obvious, tangential, silly or what-have-you. Don't be shy, everyone has holes in their knowledge, though the fewer and the smaller we can make them, the better.
Please be respectful of other people's admitting ignorance and don't mock them for it, as they're doing a noble thing.
To any future monthly posters of SQ threads, please remember to add the "stupid_questions" tag.