Francis Ford Coppola, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg: all directors who’ve had a string of successes in their careers. Hot streaks like these stretch beyond the realm of movie directors, though. Athletes, gamblers, musicians — the list could go on.

Regardless of your niche, what’s going on that spurs these back-to-back wins? And when are they most likely to strike?

To try and find out, an international group of researchers looked at the careers of approximately 3,500 artists, 6,20