The sight of two of his children crying hit Wallabies coach Michael Cheika harder than the subsequent calls for his head following the loss to New Zealand.
Cheika's suitability to carry on to the World Cup has been thrust under the microscope, after Australia's 38-13 Bledisloe Cup defeat in Sydney.
Days out from the daunting second test in Auckland, the 51-year-old responded to a scathing column from veteran journalist Greg Growden, who wants the Wallabies coaching staff completely overhauled.
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The torment of another loss to New Zealand was felt keenly by Cheika, never more so than in the minutes after the disappointing Sydney performance.
"I'll tell you now, there's no-one hurting more than me than when I walk down the tunnel and I see my two kids there crying," Cheika told journalists.
"So it is built on emotion - there's emotions for us, as well - but we've got to try to keep it clear with what we're doing.
"For me, I feel no matter who is throwing rocks, I'm in a good place, because I'm always the hardest critic on myself."
Cheika says three losses from the first four tests of 2018 don't accurately reflect the team's progress.
He believes they remain on track to launch a compelling campaign at next year's World Cup in Japan and he's the man to lead it - as he did to the 2015 tournament final.
"I've always had a plan about what I want to do," Cheika said.
"Sometimes you get bumps that take you on a different course, you lose players, different things happen along the way and you've got to be able to adjust to that.
"But when you know exactly where you're headed, it makes it a little easier to deal with those things, because you can stay on track."
But Cheika's not looking long-term this week, as he prepares his team in the relative solitude of picturesque Waiheke Island.
He wants to lift his players for the cauldron of Eden Park, where Australia must lodge a first win since 1986 to keep their hopes of regaining the Bledisloe Cup alive.
To do that will take a substantial injection of self-belief.
"There's those who can hold their nerve and those who can't, and I'd like to think I'm someone who can hold my nerve in these situations, keep the team confident, and believe we can go out there this weekend and win," he said.
"I know that you guys don't think that, but I think we can."
Cheika's team announcement on Thursday is set to feature Scott Sio back from injury and starting at loosehead prop.
There is less certainty surrounding impact prop Taniela Tupou, who was a late scratching in Sydney, due to a hamstring strain.
AAP
