I always surf alone just because there's never anybody out up here - especially at this time of year. But I seem to surf better when there are people on the beach. Much as I hate to admit it, I think it's an ego thing. Not that people walking their dogs are actually paying attention, but I imagine they are and it makes me try harder and perform better. Also provides a small amount of comfort knowing if something does go terribly wrong there was a witness before I disappeared. This video posted here is on topic and pretty cool, too.

http://www.swellinfo.com/video/surfi...d-of-the-world

If you do a youtube search for kepa acero you'll find a bunch of his stuff about surfing solo in remote places (helps if you understand Spanish...)