Even men of the stature of Steve Waugh should be permitted regrets, just small ones, minor "what ifs?" to chew over during those quieter moments.
Even men like Waugh surely need some counterweight to the boredom that accompanies unmitigated success.
When the former Australia captain retired at the start of the year, he did so with a fraying kitbag stuffed full with honours and accolades.
No man had ever played more Tests. No man had ever led a side to more consecutive victories. Only one man had scored more Test runs and two had made more centuries.
If there was one "what if", then it was India.
Victory in India.
"The ultimate goal", he had called it a couple of years before, after a routine eighth successive Ashes win. But his legs gave out 12 months too soon and he hobbled away from the game with the score unsettled.
It will be up to other men to settle it for him over the next five weeks, in arguably the most eagerly anticipated contest in cricket's calendar.
DEVALUED CURRENCY
Once, the Ashes series held pride of place, but Australian dominance has devalued its currency.
Today, however, it's Australia versus India and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Their titanic clash in 2001, followed by another fine series in 2003/4, saw to that.
Waugh led his world champions confidently to the subcontinent three years ago and strolled to a 10-wicket victory in Mumbai to record an unprecedented 16th Test win in a row.
A 17th -- and Australia's first series win in India since 1969/70 -- beckoned soon after in Kolkata, when the home side, forced to follow on, were reduced to 232 for four, still 42 runs in the red.
Waugh, who made a first-innings century, must have been yawning with the ease of it all as he prepared to become the first Australian captain since Bill Lawry in 1969/70 to triumph in India.
What transpired has since been carved deep into sporting history.
Vangipurappu Laxman, an unreliable, flash-in-the-pan sort of fellow, was joined by Rahul Dravid and the pair refused to be parted for another 376 runs.
Laxman made an extraordinary 281, 176 of them in boundaries, to Dravid's 180, Harbhajan Singh added six wickets to the seven he took in the first innings and India had won by a mind-boggling 171 runs to become only the third side to win a Test after following on.
Kolkata was followed by another "I was there" sort of match in Madras, Harbhajan taking another 15 wickets, and Waugh's troops, for many the greatest side ever assembled, returned home shellshocked.
India have realistic hopes of repeating the feat against the world champions this time.
Waugh is not there, Glenn McGrath is slowing, Shane Warne ageing and Ricky Ponting cursing a broken thumb.
Warne, in any case, has never worried the fleet-footed Indians unduly. Four years ago he took 10 wickets at more than 50 runs apiece. Missing home and his baked beans, he had done no better when visiting in 1997/8.
AUSTRALIAN DOMINANCE
Ponting, one of the world's premier batsmen and who may recover from his injury for the second half of the series, also has something to prove on India's slow, dusty tracks.
He may have averaged more than 100 against them on home turf during the 2003/4 series, with two big double centuries, but his last visit to India was less conclusive, offering scores of 0, 6, 0, 0 and 11. Each time he fell to Harbhajan.
For most of the cricketing world, jaded by long years of Australian dominance, a second consecutive Indian home victory -- and perhaps another double century for Dravid after four in his last 15 matches -- would be applauded with gusto.
Waugh, however, would find solace in the opposite result.
"I had some good success against India but I think you can't win everything and you can't achieve everything you want to do," he said.
"Some things are left for others to achieve.
"And if they do win, I'll feel as I have played my part in that success anyway."
