In a joking mood in Queenstown yesterday, Cohen said he only took up rowing to keep fit in the off season for rugby, but when he realised he was better on the water he switched codes.
"Originally, I was looking for something to keep me fit for rugby over summer and a couple of mates needed an extra man to make up a quad so I thought, 'Oh, yeah, I'll give that a go'."
Still at high school, it took Cohen another three or four years to move away from the 15-man game, knuckle down, and set his goal of competing at the Olympics.
"I was never ever going to achieve the level in rugby that I have in rowing so it was kind of an easy decision to make.
"I was a hopeless rugby player anyway, so it probably made it a bit easier to decide to row.
"Every Kiwi kid wants to be an All Black, but I knew pretty early on that wasn't going to happen."
Cohen's sporting stardom this year - he won a gold medal in the double sculls at the London Olympics partnering Joseph Sullivan - had lifted his status, especially at home in Cambridge where the sport is treated royally.
The 26-year-old remained humble and said some days he still could not believe how his life had changed.
"When I won that Olympic medal, it's something you always hope to do. You always want to do, but you never truly knew if it was going to come off.
"When I got back here I was blown away; so many New Zealanders congratulating us, getting back to the schools, and seeing all the kids' reactions.
"The kids go crazy. It is probably a lot more special for us than what it is for the kids seeing the way they react. "
Cohen was visiting Queenstown to present Wakatipu High School pupils with their end of year blues sporting awards last night.
This was the part of the job he enjoyed and hoped to be of inspiration to younger rowers.
He said the key to doing well with anything was setting small goals and ticking them off one by one.
"It's no different from when you are back at school and you want to pass that maths exam. The only difference is my goal is probably seen by a few more people on TV."
Cohen had cemented no plans for his rowing future.
He had just returned from a holiday safari in South Africa with his fiance and wanted more time to reflect on life as an Olympic gold medallist.
"I am still coming to terms with it, but I am sure it will die down over time ... because obviously for 10 years I have just been working towards that one race and it takes a bit of adjusting. ... I don't want to rush at the same time. It's a big decision.
"I'm starting to get itchy feet and knowing what to do, it's just deciding what to do.
He has not ruled out trying for the 2016 Olympics - "if I am still good enough".
"It's almost addictive once you have been to one."
