Norris added that knowing a mistake can be so costly makes dealing with qualifying or a grand prix so difficult.
“When you enter Q3 or any qualifying lap, when you have to go and deliver, it gives you butterflies every single time,” Norris said.
“It’s so much nerves, so much pressure. And you know if you do one thing – brake a metre too late, turn in at the wrong timing or whatever it is, it’s game over.
“And the knowledge of that just puts you under a very tense feeling. But it’s an amazing feeling at the same time, that you maybe can’t replicate in many other things.”
Norris admitted he had “changed a lot” since he entered F1 in 2019, at the age of 19.
“I almost cared too much about other people’s opinions, rather than doing my own stuff and being myself when I came into F1.
“I just feel like over time, with pressure and focus on doing the job I have to do, I found a better balance of life.
“My focus and job I am here to do is the same whether I laugh or joke less – it’s just how I’ve changed – and I still love what I do, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Norris has acknowledged that the odds are against him in his quest to overhaul Verstappen, who finished second at his home race on Sunday.
But he and McLaren know the constructors’ title, in which they trail Red Bull by just 30 points, is more realistic.
“We are pushing hard every weekend and our goal is to catch both,” he said. “From the constructors’ side, it looks a lot more doable than the drivers’ side but we’re pushing hard and that’s all we can do.”
Verstappen has not won since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, six races ago, and said his advantage could be “easily overturned”.
The Dutchman said: “If I win it or not, it’s not going to change my life. Would I like to win it? Yes, of course. But it’s not in my hands with the performance of the car.
“I just try to do the best I can, give feedback, try to make it faster. If that is going to be enough to the end of the year, I don’t know. But I do know we’re going to give it everything as a team to try to be more competitive than we showed in Zandvoort, because that was a poor weekend for us.”
