Cox did not come back to action until a year later when he competed at a series of FloWrestling events, compiling six more wins in total during January and February 2021. Cox was then expected to compete at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials, as the favorite to challenge reigning Olympic champion Kyle Snyder in the best–of–three. However, it was announced on the day of the event that Cox had missed weight, therefore he had been removed from competition. Days later, more detail was given to the public, and it was explained that Cox had arrived to the weight-ins on time, but once he had stepped on the scale and successfully made the weight limit of 97 kg, it had been thirteen past the 8:00 AM deadline, therefore, it was ruled as invalid by USA Wrestling. Cox explained that he was misinformed of the weight-ins schedule by his coach Kevin Jackson, who is part of USA Wrestling.