For me the bass is the pulse, the groove, the feel, the foundation, the rhythmic and chordal anchor, the root (both figuratively and often musically), and that’s how I approach it in my playing.
My sacred task is to define, shape, guide, push, pull, poke, foreshadow, elevate, drive, and ultimately close out the music at hand, all the while listening, listening, listening to what the composer, the other musicians, and the audience have said and are trying to say. Two ears, one bass; a clue!
Although the bass only has a few strings worth of notes I agree with Victor Wooten that the “note” is only a tenth of the “music”, and the bass affords me an infinite palette from which to express myself as a musician.
I show up early. My notes are pretty much good to go. I bring two pencils and an eraser. Now the real joy begins: partnering with fellow musicians in the expression of a language as old as time itself. What a privilege!