This was the response of my young adult student describing how she plays at our class/family get-togethers in which all the students play something of their own choosing. She attains, without fail, a high level of artistry even at her level of limited technical advancement.
What astonishes me is that she knows how good it is.
She is the student who will not play for relatives no matter how they beg her. She plays for herself, she tells them.
What is the difference between an audience of class/family and an audience of her relatives? The relatives listen for an abstract result of her piano lessons, while the class listens to her.