The point of all this is not that your heart never pounds. It is that when a car pulls out in front of you, you are back to yourself in a minute instead of an hour.

What the research says

A systematic review of physical activity and stress reactivity found that regularly active and fitter people showed reduced physiological reactivity to a standardised psychosocial stressor, consistent with training changing how the body meets stress. Repeated practice does seem to alter the response. Those studies were about fitness rather than about recovery time specifically, so the emphasis on the return trip goes a little beyond them.

Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.