Hosted in November instead of April this year — and still without spectators — due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Masters golf tournament was odd from the get-go. But perhaps nothing was stranger than watching Tiger Woods, arguably the best player of all time and the defending champion who’d already won five green jackets, take the form of any weekend warrior on the 12th hole.

The picturesque, 155-yard par-3 on Augusta National’s fabled “Amen Corner” turned into a godless hell for the golf idol on Sunday. It took a disastrous 10 strokes — some splashing in the water, some plopping in the sand trap, and all taking a cumulative toll on his chronically aching back — to put the ball in the hole. He’d never before scored worse than a 6 on a par-3.

In a year defined by a pandemic that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide and more than 250,000 here in the U.S., we can relate to a sort of general humbling, a reminder that we all are indeed mere mortals fighting for survival in a world rife with natural hazards. It’s how we respond in crises, though, that matters. It’s how we respond that makes us human.

As you’ll read in “Shine on,” an oral history about how the pandemic affected various points of the supply chain (p. 64), the meat industry’s response to the crisis in its first couple months wasn’t perfect, with outbreaks and shutdowns highlighting an infrastructure that has some weak points. However, with some relatively quick adjustments, the industry ultimately showcased its biggest strength — its efficiency in supplying food to consumers. Looking back on a year like no other, it is indeed a time to recognize and celebrate the industry’s rebound.

But it is not a time to become complacent; on Nov. 13, more than 180,000 new cases were reported in the U.S., then the highest daily caseload and peak of an upswing unseen anytime earlier this year. Deaths on that date were 1,389, well lower than the peak of 2,753 on April 15, but death counts rise after a surge in cases.

With the U.S. in its ninth month of this pandemic, I believe we’re on the wrong side of the tipping point. It’s now too late for further lockdowns. It would take too long, and deepen the bloody wounds of our battered economy.

Vaccines, as Pfizer and Moderna expect to soon distribute en masse, could be the only effective remedy at this point. And companies are correct in urging the government to prioritize meat plant workers along with healthcare workers and first responders. But their efforts shouldn’t end there.

The pandemic is nowhere near a thing of the past. It’s a template for the future. Success will depend on continued investment in people — from higher pay to the latest in protective equipment to education in new skills — as much as in new machines. It will require continued vigilance and preparation for the next disaster.

Woods’ meltdown on 12, of all the remarkable things to occur at the Masters tournament, might ultimately be the most memorable moment. More important, however, was how he responded.

Tiger birdied — or shot 1 under par — on five of the remaining six holes.

Editor’s note: This article ran as the Editorial in the December issue of Meatingplace magazine.

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