There is an unfortunate reality that professional athletes, or any public figure for that matter, has to accept.
Your detractors will always be more vocal than your supporters. Even if the doubters are in the minority, sometimes it is their words that linger longest.
The slightest drop in performance can lead to sweep criticism while doing a good job can simply be passed off as, well, doing your job.
When you represent millions of people as part of your job, as Wales' top rugby players do, then those notions are amplified.
In Wales, we often pin this issue on the No.10 shirt but, in truth, it could be attached to any.
Hooker Ryan Elias can attest to this.
The Scarlet's lineout throwing has often come in for scrutiny, not just in the most recent autumn campaign, but in ones that have come before.
In the opening game of the autumn tests this year, against the All Blacks, the lineout wobbled. Elias got pelters.
But the lineout, and Elias' overall performance was much improved for the remaining three matches. He got better as the campaign wore on and finished up as one of Wales' outstanding performers of the previous four weeks.
Not that too much credit flowed his way.
“I used to struggle with it when I was a little bit younger. It’s about experience," he admitted.
“When it’s going well, you don’t get any plaudits for it and it’s not like I expect plaudits for it. It’s my job, isn’t it?
“But, at the same time, when it goes bad it’s easy enough for some of the commentators or someone that doesn’t know too much about the lineout and the intricacies of it – there are so many moving parts – to blame the hooker.
“Next thing, everyone is jumping on it and it’s the hooker’s fault.
“That is quite frustrating.
“But it probably used to affect me a lot more in the past. Now I’ve just thought there is more to playing hooker than the throwing in side of things.
“I can contribute with being physical around the park. It’s that next job mentality.
“If one has gone bad or they’ve pinched one, then just get on with it, stick to your process and trust the process.
“I have my throwing process, we have the lineout process. It’s just about backing that.
“Having more experience now, it’s just a case of flushing it and getting on with the next job.”
With Ken Owens out injured, it was the first time that Elias had played four consecutive matches in the Wales No.2 jersey in his entire career.
And after showing impressive form, he was ready hit the ground running through the European fixtures and Welsh derbies in December.
Then he, and the rest of the Scarlets, endured a troubled trip to South Africa, resulting in them missing three games and having to spend 10 days quarantining in a Belfast hotel.
“It was nice to have a run of games in the two jersey and I felt like I built on each game," he said.
“I got confidence, felt good. So I was really looking forward to getting back with the Scarlets boys, crack on and keep building on how I finished up with Wales.
“I’ve had three weeks off now. Hopefully it hasn’t done too much damage.
“It’ll freshen the mind up, freshen the body up because they were four tough games. I don’t think you get many harder games than those.
“So the body was pretty sore after it.
“I think it will do me some good.”
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