Matt Fitzpatrick revealed he needed to get himself together to ensure he found the form that won him the US Open title back in 2022.
Fitzpatrick finished fourth at The Open last month, equalling his career-best at the major, having entered the final day one shot adrift of eventual winner Scottie Scheffler.
The 30-year-old has impressed since shooting 78 and 72 to miss the cut in the Players Championship in March, a moment which he described as the lowest point of his career.
He had managed a run of just one top-10 finish in the previous year and fell outside the top 80, and Fitzpatrick acknowledged the struggles to get to this point.
"I just didn't have it," Fitzpatrick told BBC Sport. "I'd put in a tonne of work, my coaches had put in so much work, and it just didn't happen.
"There's no stone left unturned for me, but it's hard when you're intending to hit a shot and miss it by quite a lot. I just didn't know what was coming.
"And that's when confidence hits an all-time low, and you feel like you can't progress."
But the work is beginning to pay off. Fitzpatrick was eighth in May's US PGA at Quail Hollow, one of five top-10 finishes since tying for 40th place at the Masters.
Those runs include a fourth-placed finish at the Scottish Open the week before Portrush, as well as a share of eighth at Wyndham last Sunday.
The week after the Masters had concluded, Fitzpatrick chose to split with long-term coach Mike Walker, and is now working with the renowned Mark Blackburn.
He also split with caddie Billy Foster, and though Fitzpatrick revealed it was a difficult decision to make, he feels as though it was the right one for his career.
"My relationship with Mike is more important than golf really," Fitzpatrick said. "He's someone I've looked up to since I was 14 or 15.
"I could tell him anything and my respect for him is so high. At the same time, I wasn't playing well and things probably needed to change.
"It's my job and I needed to get myself together."
Fitzpatrick is hoping to make his fourth appearance in the Ryder Cup this September at Bethpage Black, with only three more events left before qualification ends.
As things stand, the Briton will likely need to be reliant on a captain's pick from Luke Donald, with Fitzpatrick currently 12th in the standings.
Matt Wallace, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre are all ahead.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy has already qualified, and Fitzpatrick is keen to join him at the event.
"Despite my record, I still want to be part of it to give myself a chance to improve on it," he said.
"In the last 15 months there's been an extra effort to try and be a little bit more forgiving to myself and understanding my own psychology really," he admitted.
"My biggest thing I would take away from the slump is catching things earlier. I can't afford to get to that stage again.
"It was a tough time for me and the problem was it went on for so long.
"You can't afford to be behind the eight-ball, and you need to catch those things as early as you can, and turn them round as quickly as you can."
