Dave - I actually found that being inebriated while mowing helped me drive straighter with worn steering on a CC. Heim joints instead of the ball & socket ends are much tighter and last longer. The ones on my #72 have been in use since about 1980, back when it was my only tractor.
My zero turn actually has a cup holder, right on the left side console with the ignition key, mower pto on/off switch, tach/hour meter that the tach only worked about 2 hours. It's really hard to drive a zero turn with one hand, so having a couple beers while mowing had to stop. With no cup holder on my CC tractors once I grabbed a beer I kept drinking till it was gone and dropped the empty on the way by the 12-pack while I grabbed another.
Seeing how my #72 is 54 years old, and about everything in the steering has been replaced once, and worn out again, the cross hole on the top of the left spindle that was replaced about 1981 is badly worn again, I resisted temptation to weld the steering arm solid, but I have a newer heavier home-made steering arm that clamps on somewhere in the shop I need to finish. It may get a couple tack welds if/when I put it one.
The steering on the 70 is pretty tight, and the 982 had everything in the steering box replaced except the steering shaft. It really wasn't that expensive to rebuild.