PUEBLO, Colo. – Marco Eguchi unscrewed his silver thermos and poured a nice cup of coffee into the makeshift cup that also serves as a lid.

The 2018 PBR World Finals event winner likes to drink his coffee black with sugar before he gets set to compete.

“I rather have coffee then pre-workout,” he says.

Rather than his favored elixir having its expected effect, Eguchi has remained very calm in recent weeks with his guaranteed Unleash The Beast exemptions running low.

In North Little Rock, Arkansas, the six-time PBR World Finalist expressed confidence in his ability to work his way back into the Top 35 before his exemptions run out.

The 29-year-old heads into this weekend’s U.S. Border Patrol Invitational in Duluth, Georgia, down to his last one.

Eguchi is ranked No. 53 in the world standings. He trails No. 35 Stetson Lawrence by 115.83 points.

The Poa, Brazil, native only recorded one ride last weekend at the Bad Boy Mowdown, but his 87.5 points on South Texas Gangster earned him a share of the Round 2 victory with 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis.

The round win was Eguchi’s first since he won back-to-back rounds at the 2018 PBR World Finals with 94 points on Spotted Demon and 91 points on Stunt Man Ray.

Eguchi’s 5-for-6 performance in Las Vegas had some wondering if maybe 2019 could be a breakthrough season for him.

Instead, he heads into his Round 1 matchup against Busted Knuckle (0-0, UTB) fighting for his Unleash The Beast draw spot.

Fans can watch Round 1 Friday night exclusively on RidePass at 7:30 p.m. ET.

“It is hard in a way, but I am still fighting,” Eguchi said. “I know what I have to do. Train. Work hard.”

Eguchi is 6-for-18 (33.33 percent) with two Top-10 finishes in seven events. He began the season 4-for-6 before spiraling into a 2-for-12 slump.

“I started good, but four weeks ago I bucked off my bulls,” he said. “I don’t know. I am trying to figure (it) out.”

Eguchi struggled in January in part because of bone fragments in his chronically injured riding elbow, but he has since gone through rehab and treatment for the injury.

“My elbow is good,” he said. “It is feeling better. It hurt earlier this year. I still work on it and do exercises for it. It don’t bother me anymore.”

CAN VIEIRA CONTINUE HOT STREAK?

World No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira has ridden eight bulls at all levels of competition, including his rides to win THE AMERICAN and his record-setting third Iron Cowboy, and he heads into Duluth only 197.5 points behind Lockwood for the world No. 1 ranking.

Vieira has drawn Painted Moon (1-0, UTB) for Round 1.

Painted Moon bucked off Taylor Toves in 3.15 seconds last weekend in North Little Rock, Arkansas, during his UTB debut.

RIDERS NOT COMPETING IN DULUTH

There are five riders inside the Top 30 who are not competing in Duluth.

No. 1 Jess Lockwood (broken left collarbone), No. 20 Daniel Tinsman (right groin) and No. 21 Brennon Eldred (broken jaw) are out because of injuries.

RELATED: Eldred out 6 weeks

Tinsman plans on returning to action next weekend in Dayton, Ohio, at the Velocity Tour event.

“The plan is to just keep working it out and stretching to get strength built back into it,” he said.

No. 8 Cooper Davis is competing despite injuring his riding wrist last week in Little Rock. Davis did not get an MRI or X-rays this week and will follow up with Dr. Tandy Freeman in Georgia.

No. 11 Aaron Kleier and No. 27 Cliff Richardson have turned down their Unleash The Beast draw spots and have subsequently been suspended from UTB competition for a year. The Austalian riders are both still eligible to ride in non-UTB events and plan to compete in their home country.

ALTERNATES/EXEMPT/INVITE RIDERS

Replacing the five riders in Duluth are No. 36 Ruger Piva (-15.83 points behind No. 35 Stetson Lawrence), No. 39 Tanner Byrne (-38.33 points), No. 42 Matt Triplett (-48.33 points), No. 80 Kaique Pacheco (-200) and Eguchi (-115.83 points).

No. 51 Juan Carlos Contreras (-103.33 points) is this weekend’s Hispanic Invite, and No. 43 Scottie Knapp (-53.33 points) is competing courtesy of his Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour victory in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

WING READY FOR 2019 DEBUT

Eight-time PBR World Finals qualifier Stormy Wing is finally back.

Wing is set to make his 2019 season debut and first appearance on the Unleash The Beast since being cut on April 8, 2018, following an 0-for-18 start to the 2018 season.

The 29-year-old will head into his matchup against Joker (5-0, UTB) on Friday night with some momentum following his 2-for-2 victory last weekend at the Lexington, Kentucky, Velocity Tour event.

Wing is 5-for-15 at all levels of competition this season.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko