Operating in "the zone"

I've loved the PIXIES for ages, and I have often thought this band made producing great music seem like the easiest thing in the world to master -- almost as if they were a collective of musical savants.
Now, reading "FOOL THE WORLD: THE ORAL HISTORY OF A BAND CALLED PIXIES," I find I am not alone in my assessment.
"The Pixies' story is a really good example of something that has been proven time and time again: You do your best work when you don't know you're doing it," says PAUL KOLDERIE in the book.
Kolderie was the co-founder of Boston's seminal FORT APACHE studios -- the converted warehouse where the Pixies made their studio debut, "COME ON PILGRIM."
"What you need to do," Kolderie said, "is get into this zone and you don't really know what you're doing, you have got to not think about what you're doing. The Pixies were a situation that was born out of complete freedom and a healthy lack of self-censorship."
Kolderie's theory of being "in a zone" reminds me of tales of great athletes. People like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Joe Montana -- the absolute true greats -- often described operating almost without thought, operating in a "zone" that enabled their talents to dictate their actions.
I wonder if the Pixies were operating in that same zone.