Steve Hansen knows losses are going to come.
He knows times will be tough.
But he is trying his hardest not to reach that juncture yet.
For him, it is about meeting expectations, and getting the All Blacks to be as good as they can possibly be.
"We are a pretty young unit, played like six games together. We have won every game. Have we managed to get on top of everything and be happy among ourselves? Probably not. But we are striving to get on top.
"We want to play. That is what great New Zealand sides have always done. We want to play faster, with more intensity and see if others can keep up."
So far, no team has. But the challenge often comes from within, more than from across the other side of the paddock.
"Sometimes your opponent is a lesser team than yourself. One thing I find interesting, and most teams all around the world struggle with, is if you have success against a team and you come up against them again. Like Ireland this year. We had that middle game and we were rubbish, so we failed there. But we definitely sorted it in the last game."
Hansen's side so far has showed a willingness to move the ball, and kept to the All Black game plan of using all 15 players.
That was simply playing to its strengths, he said.
"We're just making sure the team is wanting to do what you want them to do. Making sure you have genuine edge. Edge comes through expectations. Setting clear expectations through the week, making sure those are being driven throughout the week. Senior players and coaches are driving that bone-deep, not just at the surface.
"The game we are trying to play involves multi-skilled athletes. We think we have got that: good attackers and good defenders, who do their core roles well. So let's see if you guys [opposition] can do it. And we do it at an intensity and skilled game which requires them to do it."
That attacking game should be at home under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow night.
"I think a reasonable surface will suit that. Wellington did not suit that game, but Wellington did not suit any game. We had a young halfback and first five-eighth who have not played in those positions.
"There is always a plan B. We've got a forward pack to mix it up."
Wellington's plan was "disastrous weather, weather like that you always put the opposition's skills on the line rather than your own".
Hansen does have some advantages. The talent pool he can pick from is rich and deep, the envy of every other rugby-playing nation.
"It is hard to say to some people you are playing very well but you are not getting a game. But by and large most guys are picking themselves.
"There is a lot of talent. You've got to have a mixture of enthusiasm and experience."
Lurking somewhere in the back of his head is the 2015 World Cup. But there is plenty of water to go under the bridge before that comes around.
Reflecting on the events of last year, Hansen said he carried a lot of guilt around from the loss at the 2007 World Cup.
"Everyone felt a sense of relief we had won it. We'd been given another chance. We had a real ownership of that last loss. You did want to win. The whole reason we came back together was the best way to win it was to come back as a trio. And we achieved it."
That was done with Graham Henry in charge and he has been in and around ever since, despite having supposedly retired last year.
His latest escapade was working in the Pumas camp last week.
Hansen felt Henry's Argentinian romance became bigger than it was.
"You can only control the controllables. Graham is the sort of person who attracts a lot of attention. He's been knighted and was actively involved in Argentina. And that was a big story. It became more of a sideshow for media and talkback I would imagine. It becomes a bigger issue than it should be."
Hansen is used to everything becoming a storm in a teacup.
After all, he is in charge of the national team in the national sport. He knew what he was coming into when he got the big job.
The only hindrance was when he wanted family time.
"Eight years was a long apprenticeship. You have a fair idea of what you are coming into.
"It is more your family that gets affected by that. You go out for tea and people come into your space and they come into your family's space.
"You can never get annoyed about it. You know that is part of the job. That is because New Zealanders love rugby. You just have to sit down and explain that to your family.
"When you are with your kids and your partner you really make sure you are present. And you have to be a little bit flexible in your thinking ... as long as you talk about it, it does not become too much of an issue.
