Team 2386 from Burlington, Ontario (about 40 minutes South West of Toronto), although not a powerhouse team such as 1114, 2056 or 610 has most definitely been motivated by the powerhouses. Without these teams we would not be required to work so hard just to be able to qualify for Worlds. These teams make it so that other Ontario teams need to aim to do things that many other teams just don't need to because they don't have powerhouses near them forcing them to do any better. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely teams all over the world that strive towards making the best robot they can to perform best at worlds. That being said, why do more work than you need to if the motivation isn't there.
Also the teachers strike (although making things more challenging) certainly helped motivate us. We were the only extra-curricular running (technically a class but was really an extra-curricular) and needed to not only represent our school but show our peers that robotics was more than a bunch of nerds getting together to do lame, nerdy things. The strike also sent more teachers wanting to continue helping after school to come to our program and mentor. This gave us even more qualified help (on top of the amazing teachings that come from our mentors in industry).
The timmies and maple syrup clearly help as well
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