It's a mind game.  There are other things to know about with a long rope, though.   The weight of the rope requires you to drop or add bars depending on your speed, and that is what I was really nervous about.    There isn't much margin for error on rope.

The belay team that is part of the team I am on has saved two people from death on Bridge Day due to out of control rappels.  One was a barrel chested man who simply went ass-over-teakettle and was going down inverted.