"Boxing teaches you to be very resilient, and when you want something bad enough, you will do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes," the Olympic Games hopeful said.

Which is why Nicolson is holding onto her Tokyo dream amid fears the Olympics will be cancelled with the globe still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Every day she gets a little closer to the opening ceremony on July 23, yet with every waking moment it seems her dream slips further away.

A bombshell report suggesting the postponed Games would be scrapped completely has been shut down by the International Olympic Committee and their Australian counterparts.

So Nicolson refuses to let her ambition die.

"You can't explain the Olympic dream, you've either got it or you don't," Nicolson said.

"For me, it's what has driven me through a lot of setbacks, a lot of hard times. I guess nothing would make me more proud than doing what I've set out to do.

"When I set out to do something, I want to do it. The Olympics has always been a massive inspiration to me, It wasn't always something I thought 'it would be me', but they've inspired me.

"When the realisation came that it could be me one day, it's just been my driving force ever since. I've got the Olympic dream, I want to represent Australia, I want to win medals for Australia.

"There is no better place to do that than the pinnacle of sport at the Olympic Games on the world stage.

"One of my biggest setbacks was missing out on Rio. I felt I did everything I possibly could to be the best I possibly could, to qualify for those Olympics. It didn't happen.

"That was a pretty hard setback to come back from. Do I want to try for another four years to go again?"

That four-year cycle has already turned into five, with Nicolson joining some of Australia's best amateur boxers at an AIS camp in Canberra this week.

Now uncertainty surrounding the Games this year could see the dream turn into something of a nightmare for three members of the camp who have already qualified.

Featherweight Nicolson, light heavyweight Paulo Aokuso and heavyweight Justis Huni are all on the road to Tokyo. Huni has already kickstarted his professional career, winning the Australian title on debut and boasting a 2-0 record.

Nicolson feels as though she has been on a roller coaster of emotion since qualifying in Jordan last year. Nothing feels quite the same as it once did.

Even the AIS dining hall feels different, yet she faces the unenviable task of preparing for something she yearns for while the world says there is no way it can proceed.

"We really need to prepare for these Olympics as if they're going ahead no matter what. We can't have doubts in our minds they're not going to happen," Nicolson said.

"For me, I truly believe they are going to be happening in July. That's just the focus and belief I need to keep throughout this whole preparation, and no matter what, be prepared for what's going to happen in July. I just really hope they go ahead.

"It's so important to surround yourself with people who understand exactly what you are going through. We are all on the exact same journey, we all have the same end goal.

"At the end of the day it's only you in the ring, but you've got those 10 other people with you, mentally and physically though the entire preparation.

"I know it's not going to be a normal Olympics, it's definitely not going to be the Olympic experience I've dreamed of, but it's the Olympics and I'm there to win."