Willcox was born and grew up in Bowen, Queensland, as a third-generation tomato farmer.[3][4]
Willcox elected on to the Whitsunday Regional Council as a Division 6 councillor in 2012.[3] He was subsequently elected as the mayor of the Whitsunday Regional Council in 2016, and was re-elected to the same position in April 2020.[5][6][7]
In August 2021, Willcox was selected as a Liberal National Party candidate for the division of Dawson.[8] In April 2022, he took leave from his mayoralty role to contest the 2022 federal election.[9] He was elected at the federal election on 21 May and subsequently resigned as Mayor officially in June.[1][10]