There's nothing like the cold reality of reflection to send a shiver down your spine.
And as James Nitties prepared for this week's New Zealand PGA Championship, he spoke with great candour of his near miss in the recent World Super 6 Perth.
Nitties, without a global tour on which to play, lost the match play final 2&1 at Lake Karrinyup to a global household name in Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
And while he was delighted to pocket the almost $180,000 on offer to keep the wolves from the door and go to the top of the PGA of the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, the pain ran deeper.
“Once I had a bit of time to decompress and think about it, I was pretty shattered,” Nitties told RSN Radio's Breakfast Club.
“On the money problems, my sponsors, pretty much me, were very happy because I can cover myself for a year and go do what I love to do.
“But being 1-up through one (of the six-hole final), I was thinking I might have a European Tour card at the end of this.
“It kind of sucks.”
But Nitties, of Newcastle, still clearly hasn't lost his larrikin spirit after an event he offered high praise for its innovative format.
“I pretty much said to Kiradech (at the start of the final), `I'll give you the winner's cheque, just give me the European exemption and we don't even have to tee it up.”
For the full interview, click here