1x Cup of Daring Chance
1x Cup of Target Selection
Be bold and be smart essentially. Take chances, enjoy risk, but also know when and where those risks make the most sense. Mess up either of these and you'll not only miss out on good fights, but you'll also get your ships exploded. And that is no fun for anyone other than the other guy. And you are not playing Eve to make someone else's game more enjoyable.
Throw those two ingredients in a bowl, add some water, and mix liberally. Now we need some spice, a dash or two of special ingredients here and there, to make a good PvPer cake. Or whatever it is we are baking. Perhaps muffins?
1x Dash of Mistake Training
You are gonna make mistakes. As in real life, the key is learning from them and trying not to make the same ones over and over again. Eve is the same. We all screw up. I've been playing Eve for a long time and the other day I forgot my key commands and flew a ship right into an Enyo, instead of escaping. I was dead before I even had time to correct my boo-boo. It happens. Relax. Learn something. Take something, anything, positive from the encounter, the experience, and mold it into that giant blob of learning inside your head. You'll be that much better and that much smarter the next time.
2x Pinches of Honor
We are all playing a game together. In my opinion a little honor goes a long way towards making a Good PvPer. We could call this respect. That other ship is being piloted by another human being somewhere, one trying just as hard as you are. This is why we type "gf" in local after every fight (unless they use ECM!), even when it wasn't that great of a fight. Respect. Granted, respect and honor are intangibles, you can't measure the percentage impact it has on your orbital speed. But in my opinion, it is just as important as those level V spec skills. In the end, it may be the only thing that makes a Good PvPer any different from everyone else. Without it, our recipe is going to taste rather bitter.
1x Tablespoon of Situational Awareness
Why do solo pilots fly in a fleet? Why is it important that we have a running gang 24/7? One of the biggest answers to these questions is the all important situational awareness. Sharing. Intel. Advice. Answers. Call it whatever you want, but knowing is better than not knowing. Is that Thorax bait? Is the gate to Reitsato camped again? Someone has probes out in the system next door. That Loki is not alone. Those frigates are linked. That Catalyst is stabbed. There is no end to the amount of situational knowledge to be gained from shared experience. This is why it is essential to be in a Corporation, and to be in a gang/fleet, even if you intend to fly alone. Do eet!
1x Healthy Dose of Attitude
I can't help you with this one. Every good PvPer I've ever known in Eve has had a strong personality, a winning attitude. Not to be confused with asshole, although that can also make you good at PvP, it doesn't make you a Good PvPer. (Btw, assholes burn out. It is one of the best things about them, they do not last.) We could call this confidence, but it goes beyond that. Confidence is part of it, but not the entire picture of this ingredient. Goodness knows you have to be part crazy to engage in this playstyle to begin with, it is so much easier to hole up in High Sec and play that safety game. Or to camp those gates. Or to shoot poor defenseless War Targets as they undock. Putting it all on the line yourself or with your friends is a confidence destroying experience. Somewhere, deep inside, you need that thing that keeps you going.
In the end, a Good PvPer doesn't have much to do with being good at PvP. Mostly it has to do with character, motivation, attitude and conviction. A mix of time-honored warrior traits that you can't buy in any store.
Good PvP is a result of being a Good PvPer. Not the other way around.
Stay Frosty my friend.