“But the competitive side of me never disappeared,” she added. “The more time I spent around elite sport and curling, the more I began to wonder whether I still had something to give on the ice.
“I know how demanding the road to an Olympics is, but I am returning from a very different place. I feel refreshed, physically strong and excited by the challenge. I would not be coming back unless I believed I could perform at that level again.”
Muirhead’s gold medal-winning team-mate Vicky Drummond is also returning to the sport to rival her – and a third member of that rink, Jen Dodds – in the GB Curling mixed doubles programme.
Drummond, 32, says being part of the BBC Sport team in Cortina in February rekindled her passion for competing, and that she wants to show her young daughter Sophie that “becoming a mum doesn’t mean your ambitions have to end”.
“More than anything, I want my return to mean something beyond the ice,” said the intensive care nurse, who will partner Euan Kyle.
“I want Sophie to grow up knowing that it’s never too late to chase something that excites you. If she grows up believing that anything is possible because she watched me try, then this journey will already have been worth it.
“I have no idea where this road will lead, but I’m excited to find out.”