Cox was educated at The King's School, Parramatta. In his senior year of 1982 he coxed that school's 1st VIII to victory at the AAGPSHead of the River. Cox first made state selection in the New South Wales youth eight which contested the Noel Wilkinson trophy at the Interstate Regatta within the 1983 Australian Rowing Championships. He coxed the New South Wales youth eight again in 1984. In 1988 he made the New South Wales men's senior eight which contested the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta. At the 1984 Australian Rowing Championships he steered a Mosman/Sydney/SUBC four to victory for the U23 coxed four national title. At those same championships he coxed a Mosman/Sydney/Haberfield eight in a title attempt for the U23 eight championship. In 1987 and 1988 he coxed AIS selection composite crews in the coxed four championship. The 1987 four placed second and the 1988 crew was sixth.
International representative rowing
Cox made his Australian representative debut as coxswain of the Australian U23 eight which competed in the 1985 U23 Trans Tasman series on Lake Ruataniwha in New Zealand. They lost both of their match races against New Zealand. Later that year they contested the 1985 U23 World Rowing Championships in Banyoles, Spain. There, that crew which contained three future world champions and the future coaching great Paul Thompson, won a silver medal. For the 1987 World Rowing Championships in Copenhagen Cox's New South Wales rival Dale Caterson was the incumbent rudder-man for the Australian men's senior eight, and Cox was selected in the stern of the Australian men's lightweight eight which also had good prospects. The regatta was held in bad weather and tricky winds made lane allocations and racing conditions difficult and the Australian eight did not fare well, missing the A final and finishing in overall eight place.
Cox had a thirty-year career as an advertising copywriter and worked at a number of Sydney's leading ad agencies. At 50 years of age he completed his teaching qualifications and in 2014 secured a role at his alma-mater The King's School as an English teacher. He coaches rugby and the school's first VIII. In 2020, Cox left Kings to teach at Knox Grammar School as an English teacher. Cox is married to Keeley Devery a prominent Australian representative netball player. Devery had a ten-year representative career from 1985 to 1995. She was awarded an OAM in 1992 and named in Netball Australia's Hall of Fame in 2010.
