This is a post I wrote on my Facebook. It might shed more light on this topic. I agree with John about Shiffrin having it easy for a long time. She could win by skiing fast but under her limit. The same goes for her coaches. They have had it easy, they could sit back and watch her win or podium almost all the time. I am not convinced that much of her troubles can be attributed to her father's death; as she has won and performed well in two seasons and numerous occasions since.
John: Resiliency is something people develop when they deal with loss and disappointment.
Every top athlete is hard on themselves and it can be hugely destructive. This comment is right on the money, I think Shiffrin has yet to learn this. She has to figure out how to work through it.
Response to the question "What's wrong with her boots?" The first indication for either a boot issue or skis is, her ski is bouncing in the turn. The second is, she has leaned in twice in 2 races when the ski was going straight on her.
Everyone has commented on the snow being very positive, with a strong cuff and or overpowered sole alignment the ski digs. In addition, Atomic skis are very aggressive even without an aggressive edge tune. All these things add up.
There were times this season when Shiffrin was able to recover from those types of miscues. However, she knows that she can no longer just race a clean run and win. The other women have caught up to her. When you push or are pressing to go faster the risks are greater and recovery times to adapt to boot and ski edging difficulties is much shorter or nonexistent.
Her team has had it easy, Shiffrin has been so dominant with her basic skiing they didn't have to concern themselves with many of these issues, basically because she was winning. They don't have the confidence to change anything when things are going well. However, in the last two seasons, her setup has been adequate by most standards, but not good enough to always win. Vlhova has been beating Shiffrin in the slalom as have a few others in single runs. The honeymoon is over. Time to get down to some serious changes.