He actually had a little club of three people, who discussed physics. However, I'm not sure of the time line, I think it was before his miracle year. Explainin

He actually had a little club of three people, who discussed physics. However, I'm not sure of the time line, I think it was before his miracle year. Explaining an idea to someone (rubber ducking) can help a lot. It may be that he had the hint of the ideas before, and spent a year working out the details, and writing them up.