Answer: back to the training pitch to do it all again. Unless, that is, you're Blues captain Keven Mealamu. In his case you do as much on the training field as your injured calf will allow, and suffer a little more when watching the game from the grandstand or on TV.
At least the dwindling number of remaining fit Blues players have the luxury of the training/playing routine and can play their part at the weekend.
Mealamu, though, has to go through the agony of watching his beloved team implode, including a run of defeats which led to the unprecedented mid-season advertising of coach Pat Lam's job.
They would dearly have loved Mealamu, who had played 135 times for the Blues before their awful season kicked off, to have been involved in the last five matches he has missed.
The rugged hooker felt so moved by Lam's plight _ he has effectively been sacked _ that he was determined to make a statement to the media on behalf of his team. It was more filled with emotion than even Lam's, who seemed by then to be resigned to his fate.
Mealamu, 33, sits alongside Sean Fitzpatrick as the most capped All Black hooker, having played 92 tests. He trained lightly during the All Blacks training camp this week, so is cautiously optimistic he will be involved in next month's three-test series against Ireland and overtake Fitzpatrick, another Auckland stalwart, but that is far from a priority.
He just wants to stand alongside his Blues teammates as they undergo their worst season in history "It would be nice [to get the All Blacks record], but the big thing is to just make sure I get things right and get back out there.
"It hurts, definitely, especially as the captain,'' he added of the Blues' troubles. "Where I feel most comfortable is out on the field in the heat of battle with the boys. There's nothing worse [than having to watch], especially the way we've been going.
"It's been tough for everyone. We've had such a young side out there the past couple of weeks. It just makes it harder to watch on the sidelines. You try to contribute on the training field but it's nothing compared to being out there.''
In a season which, victories over the Bulls and Lions apart, plumbs new depths every week, the nadir was reached in Christchurch in the last round when old rivals the Crusaders thrashed them 59-12. The Blues lacked in every department until substitute Lachie Munro, who has announced he is leaving to play for Bordeaux in France such is his lack of game time, scored two second-half tries.
For Mealamu, watching the game at home, it was excruciating.
"It was tough to watch. And every week it gets tougher. In the beginning of the season when we were losing, there were a couple of things we had to fix. And then there was the [lack of] confidence. There are no breaks. You don't get a chance to come up and breathe. We need to find a break but it seems that the waves have just been pounding on us.''
Recent scans on his calf have revealed a tear that is healing well. He and Lam are hopeful he could return to play the Chiefs at North Harbour Stadium next weekend but after suffering the original injury in round four against the Stormers in Durban and aggravating it when returning too early, Mealamu doesn't want to make the same mistake again.
It's likely new All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has ordered him to err on the side of caution as well. With Mealamu and Andrew Hore the two front-line hookers in the country by some distance, Mealamu has plenty more to offer the All Blacks this year and in 2013, the final year of his New Zealand Rugby Union contract.
"I've seen some good progress in the last week and I've been able to do some rugby specific stuff, especially scrum stuff, early on in the week but I'm just making sure I'm ticking off every box before I get out on the field; so we can say, that's it, it's healed.''
Tomorrow at Eden Park the Blues play the Highlanders, who are still in the playoffs hunt after an impressive 16-11 victory over the in-form Bulls in Dunedin last weekend.
You don't have to be a cynic to suggest another defeat is looming for the Blues, but Mealamu insisted the players' hearts were still in it.
"We just need to make sure we do the basics really well. We need to make sure our supply of ball is good and clean because you can't play without that quality ball. And make sure we defend our hearts out and that's not as individuals, but as everyone defending together. I think that's the key, when you're playing against good sides everyone has to bring that line up together, we're tackling in twos and threes and we've got that connection for that 80 minutes because you will see that effort from individuals, but if we all do it together, that's where we can make improvements.
"I tell you, Mondays are tough, especially after the loss to the Crusaders. But you'll see when they come out that they want to be here. These are the toughest circumstances that most of these guys have ever played in, but they come out here and they're ready for training. But they're definitely doing it tough at the moment.''
None more so than Mealamu.
