The Silver Ferns shooter has had a tough few years and captained the side at the pinnacle event in South Africa last year where they slumped to fourth place.
Knowing she needed a break mentally and physically, Ekenasio took a risk and withdrew from the Silver Ferns for their Nations Cup campaign in January.
"Honestly, probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made netball-wise I think," Ekenasio told the Otago Daily Times.
"I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back and play after World Cup.
"I thought that I was probably done and had my time.
"Honestly, [I] was really certain on that, I thought it was mind made up.
"Taking a break away made me realise that I probably wasn’t done yet."
She spent the past couple of months recharging and filling her cup with with her children, who she had often spent long periods away from, commuting to the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic from her home in Wellington.
"I would say family comes first, but in reality, the demand is so high in our job that it doesn’t, really."
Taking a break sent a strong message to other athletes it was good to prioritise their own needs to be their best for their team .
Ekenasio backed the message that better people made better netballers.
"The better we are off court, the better we’re always going to do on court.
"We talk about mental health, and we talk about how important it is, but until you can action something . . . like actually giving athletes the time to do whatever it is they need to do to get their mind in a good space, then I think that’s when we really prioritising mental health.
"I think for me to come back and actually feel like I’ve got a love for the game again, it just shows that you can step away and come back.
"It’s not without risk, you know, because it’s a professional sport, people are always fighting for positions. But I’d rather be in a better space than to be just sitting in a position and just be scared to hold it and not step away."
She watched on as the Silver Ferns finished third at the Nations Cup and felt they performed well, with players putting their hands up to be on court.
But there were always work-ons, especially as they were in a building phase at the start of another World Cup cycle.
"I feel like I’ve been saying this for about a year straight, but the future of the Ferns is really bright.
"Our young girls who are in there, who are absolutely dominating and doing their job . . . it’s like a bit of individual brilliance, which I think we’re seeing out there again, is amazing."
Southern Steel captain Kate Heffernan was named vice-captain for the Nations Cup — supporting Phoenix Karaka who took over the captaincy from Ekenasio — and Ekenasio said the young midcourter had a bright future as a leader.
Ekenasio, who was in Dunedin at the weekend for the preseason Southern Showdown, will link up with former Steel player Saviour Tui in the Magic’s shooting circle this year.
Tui looked strong throughout the weekend. She was moving freely on her knee which gave her some grief last year and Ekenasio was excited to work alongside her.
"She had a really strong season last year — a bit of a break-out season and we got to see what she’s really capable of, and just continue to try and nurture her this year."
Ekenasio praised the Southern Showdown as an awesome tournament, saying it was great to come to Dunedin and have the opportunity to "size everybody up" and see where the Magic were sitting.
The Magic play the opening game of the ANZ Premiership season against the Northern Mystics on April 13.
