I agree. Everyone should check out this famous post-match interview with a strong GM, where's he's simply asked "Can you tell us about the game?" and talks for 13 minutes straight (with no board to reference) about all of the lines he calculated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUgvAoTzWBA

Notable because he departs from the book opening early on and has to find some brilliant moves to keep himself out of trouble. The breadth and depth of his calculations seem beyond what even strong amateurs consider, more than just choosing better lines to analyze.