Ross Byrne is living in the now.
The past and anything much beyond the immediate task of getting picked in Andy Farrell's 33-man World Cup squad is not something he wants to spend too much time discussing.
Champions Cup heartbreak with Leinster last May?
"That’s gone now. That’s put behind us."
His Ireland comeback after a 20-month spell in the wilderness, when the out-half kicked the winning penalty to beat Australia in November?
"When it happened I took confidence from it going forward but it seems a long time ago now so there’s not really too much point in thinking about it now."
Stand-out World Cup memories?
"Em... none probably really."
A potential clutch kick, a dropgoal maybe, in France during the World Cup?
"Ah, well it's probably quite a bit away if those moments do happen but during the match week you'd do your own kind of mental preparation and you prepare in the best possible way and if you do get the moments, hopefully it comes off."
The 2019 World Cup warm-up disaster in Twickenham? Don’t even go there.
"We can't still be talking about that, are we? It was four years ago!"
Given the unfair reputational damage done to the then-24-year-old by the 57-15 defeat, and with a re-match against England to come, it’s a fair question.
"Well, I think a lot of things are different now," he adds.
"I think every... look, when you play 10 you get scrutinised if you lose.
"When you lose badly, you get scrutinised. I'm very well aware of how that works in the media. I've accepted that a long time ago. So, that's well put behind me."
As Johnny Sexton’s deputies jostled for position, Byrne even found himself behind younger brother, Harry, in the pecking order.
So the bounce back, to a point where he featured in all five Grand Slam games, starting against Italy, must have been all the sweeter.
"Yeah, delighted to be sitting here now," said Byrne, who has 19 caps to his name.
"To be called in late like that in November and to play a part in the Six Nations and go on and win a Grand Slam was amazing as well.
"It’s just trying to get the best out of the next few weeks and hopefully get picked for the World Cup."
Byrne is one of three out-halves who were included in Andy Farrell’s 42-man training squad. Jack Crowley, a URC winner with Munster, came up hard on the outside at the end of the season, dropping the winning goal in the semi-final against Leinster for good measure.
The competition is welcome, says Byrne.
"Even training today was up a notch in intensity. It’s what makes the standard of training so high, that everyone wants to put their hand up, go to France and play. It’s very important.
"We saw during the Six Nations how important squad depth is. It will be crucial going forward."
"Yeah good," he says of his dealings with the 23-year-old Munster fly-half.
"We get on really well. We would have been in camp in November very briefly and then just the Six Nations so I wouldn't have known him very well but we have a very good relationship."
"Yeah [it’s competitive], absolutely, and that's the way it should be."
As for his Leinster team-mate Sexton, who turned 38 on Tuesday, Byrne joked: "Ah, yeah, I got him a cake with 40 candles."
"I can't remember what age I was, 21 or 22 when I first came into the team at Leinster.
"We’ve known each other for a long time now and we’ve been involved in squads together for seven or eight years or however long it is.
"We’re well used to each other’s company at this point and constantly speaking about different things and doing what’s best for the team."
Byrne did, however, reveal the latest surprise guest to the camp, which originally assembled on 19 June for bursts of two-week training sessions broken up by single down-weeks.
Previous speakers to Irish squad meet-ups over the years include golfer Rory McIlroy, singers Bono and Christy Moore.
"Paul Williams, the crime reporter, was in with us, which was brilliant. Just to get an insight into how his life has been, stuff like that. That was a big eye-opener."
