My nervousness varies depending on the situation. Playing on a street by myself is very nervewracking and it’s very hard for me to get going, but once I have started I am good for that set - then the process starts all over again. But if I have a single person with me whom I know, then I can pretend that they are the only one listening and it is easy as pie.
I had to play solos several times in Donegal because people knew I would bring my whistle to the weekly ceili. I must have liked it on some level because I kept bringing the darn whistle. I ended up playing four or five evenings, just a single set, but for a room full of people and half of them were Irish. talk about performance anxiety! But they liked it, and after one memorable performance my roommate skidded across the room (she had been dancing in her socks) and high fived me, LOL.
It will always be nervewracking but the adrenaline rush when you’re done is great!
btw, one thing I have noted about my own performances is I tend to hurry the final section in an effort to get it over with. This of course is the part you do NOT want to mess up! Keep yourself calm in the final stretch and take it slow, and then enjoy the reaction! 