Every song is a love song, vs. " Actually, I think it is all the strong emotions that feed creativity-". Name a strong emotion for which love, in some form, isn't somehow the basis. Why is a person angry, grieving, hurt, happy? Because something happened to someone or something they love.

Regarding being excited vs. being relaxed, both are important and they aren't mutually exclusive, if you're talking about mental states. You have to be excited, because that's what makes you care enough about something to write, and it's what motivates you to do so. Relaxation is necessary so the words and music flow naturally. It's possible to write when you lack either, but the results are likely to sound boring and/or forced.

Any sort of music takes my mind off what I'm doing. Some folks deal well with 'wallpaper' music. There IS no 'background' for me when it comes to music. If it's on, I listen to it.

"chocolate, ginger, cheesecake, tiramisu"
Feed me these, and I will write a song for you
I don't yearn for roses red or violets of blue
Gimme chocolate, ginger, cheesecake, tiramasu

If it's that wonderful Australian candied ginger, I think a couple of pounds would be OK. Of course, other people might want some. I have access to really good chocolate, but I don't know what the temperatures will be like. Things (like cheesecake) that need to be kept cold don't do really well on 9-hour car trips. Especially if I'm in the car with them, unsupervised.