The concept applies to any endeavor, not just sports. A composer may write several masterpieces in a row out of the blue...before returning to normal.
Getting Hot, El Fuego, Locked in, On Fire, In the Zone, Playing unconscious... are all great sayings. They are simply describing an elevated state in performance where the person is executing flawlessly for a constant period of some time.. The performance streak is suddenly far better than the norm and even the persons norm even if they are elite at their trade..before they come back to earth. Its best to just enjoy it when it happens and certainly don't think about it try to make it happen. You can't, things just click perfectly for a period of time. I even remember Michael Jordan in the finals vs Blazers, he was so hot in the zone he was just throwing up shots from anywhere and made everything. He finally turned to the cameras laughing and shrugged like, "I don't know, I have no idea how I'm doing this but whatever.."
It's really fun to watch when someone is in zone, but thinking about it surely destroys. Think about about major league ball player teammates do to a pitcher when he's in the zone and throwing a no hitter? They don't speak to him and everyone ignores him in the dugout... For fear of making him think about what he's doing... and it will end it. Hence that's why I usually refer to hot hand or I the zone as rather..... Playing unconscious.