The relationship between superconductivity and the pseudogap in cuprates remains one of the central unresolved questions in strongly correlated quantum matter. In this work, we approach this problem from a non-equilibrium perspective, using transient states as a probe of the underlying electronic structure [1]. Guided by time-resolved experiments, we construct a theoretical framework that tracks the evolution of the electronic spectrum under strong excitation and reveals a striking reorganization of spectral weight. Rather than a smooth precursor to superconductivity, the pseudogap emerges here as a competing instability with distinct symmetry properties. As the system is driven out-of-equilibrium, we uncover a crossover from a particle-hole symmetric superconducting state to an asymmetric pseudogap regime, signaling a qualitative change in the dominant correlations. This dynamical pathway exposes a hidden competition between orders that is not probable in equilibrium. By capturing both coexistence and competition within a unified description, our results suggest that light-induced states can be used to disentangle intertwined orders and access regimes otherwise obscured at equilibrium. More broadly, this work reframes the pseudogap not as a passive backdrop, but as an active and competing component of the cuprate phase diagram.

[1] Armanno, Gingras et al., Light-induced Asymmetric Pseudogap below Tc in cuprates, arXiv:2511.20768, in review with Nature Physics.