Rob Nicol has quickly learned being in the Black Caps means facing criticism from all quarters - even from within the team.
So, as New Zealand attempt to salvage something from tomorrow's fifth and final ODI against the West Indies, Nicol knows to grasp hold of the positives when he can.
There haven't been many so far on his side's Caribbean tour, with the hosts holding an unassailable 3-1 lead in the one-dayers after taking the Twenty20 series 2-0, and Nicol and his teammates are in danger of heading into the two tests with momentum firmly fixed in the Windies' corner.
New Zealand have improved incrementally since the tour began in Florida earlier in the month, and they looked to have turned the corner on some indifferent early form with an 88-run in the third one-dayer.
But yesterday brought a disappointing 24-run defeat which saw the series lost and left the Black Caps seeking little more than a consolation tomorrow in St Kitts.
Nicol, however, took heart from the improvements and felt that the only way to remain sanguine when dealing with an unforgiving public and media scrutiny.
"That's something that you've always got to [focus] on because, in this day and age, you've got critiquing from every from every point of view, even from within your own side," he said.
"If you're not positive yourself then you're never going to get any enjoyment out of the game. At the end of the day, that's what we're there for."
Nicol shouldn't lack for positives when looking at his brief international career. In 13 ODIs, the 29-year-old averages a very respectable 42.83 with a strike rate of 81, forming a prosperous partnership opening the batting with Martin Guptill.
In four matches against the West Indies, Nicol's averaging 30.75 but remains unsatisfied with his contribution. After making starts in every innings the Cantabrian has only once reached a half-century, something he wants to amend as soon as possible.
"The reality of it is, pretty much the whole series I've gotten myself into a position to be able to push on for the side and then gotten out," he said.
"I'm steadily finding my feet (at international level). But I'm a realist - I know that timing's of the essence and I need to start producing scores of 100-plus for this side."
One tomorrow wouldn't go astray, as the Black Caps attempt to at least take a winning feeling into the first test, starting next week in Antigua.
A significant partnership or two would also help, with New Zealand managing only four in excess of 50 and none greater than 71 in the series so far.
Nicol said coach John Wright had extolled the benefits of batting in partnerships, and that was his aim for the rest of the tour.
"I'm really hoping that I can forge something with someone in the group tomorrow, and further on afield if I get the opportunity."
A lack of partners wasted Ross Taylor's brilliant hundred on Sunday, and Nicol pointed to that as just one factor influencing the outcome of the match.
"If a couple of things went our way, we could've maybe gotten over the line and been fighting for a series instead," he said. "Obviously, you can always dissect a game massively and there's all sorts of positions you can hope to change.
"But, in reality, in the heat of the moment you've just got to go with your gut.
"I think that we're slowly getting there and hopefully tomorrow we can get over the line."
