Trailling 4-0 in a first-to-seven series, Sir Ben Ainslie insists his INEOS Britannia team are really not that far off the pace, despite the one-sided America's Cup scoreline.
While some Kiwi fans are already turning their attention to where the next defence might be staged, they would do well to temper their excitement for a few more days, as the regatta reaches a pivotal point off Barcelona.
"I think it's a much closer relative performance, but through the races, they've done a brilliant job when they've been in the lead of defending and finding the right moment to extend a little bit," said Ainslie, after Monday's third defeat. "Obviously, it has been tough for us, but we've kept it relatively close.
"It might look like there's a big gap in performance, but I don't think it's actually that big and we know that we can still make gains."
Of course, that was before they dropped another race, as Emirates Team New Zealand passed the halfway mark of their victory chase and the British frustration is clear to see, as pressure mounts from home.
"At 4-0 down, INEOS Britannia could be facing 'matchpoint' in the America’s Cup by the end of sailing on Wednesday [Thursday NZ] and it is now a race against dwindling time to stop the bleeding," declared The Times.
The Guardian likened Team New Zealand's mindset to that of the All Blacks, where winning is simply expected and never entertained.
You don't have to be an America's Cup historian to recall last time the Kiwis lost on this stage, as skipper Dean Barker seemed like a deer in headlights against Oracle Team USA off San Francisco in 2013, letting matchpoint dominance slip to a 9-8 defeat.
"Imagine if they lost from here," taunted Spithill at 8-1 down, words that have haunted a proud seafaring nation ever since.
So let's imagine for a minute how the Brits can come back from here...
Broken momentum
Team NZ have ridden a wave of momentum since the series began on Sunday. Everything has gone their way and every little mistake has compounded on the British, who can sense this contest slipping away from them.
In basketball, you would call a 'timeout' to break the opposition's run — this rest day serves the same purpose.
In 2013 Oracle began their comeback when only three races were completed across six days, including three days with no racing at all.
Unfortunately for the Brits, Monday's second race was postponed a day due to light winds, robbing them of a second mandatory day to regroup.
After three days of disappointment, they now have 48 hours to refresh and recharge mentally.
Rub of the green
The British are still bitter over the penalty that cost them race three, when the Kiwis successfully scouted their preferred pre-start manoeuvres and aggressively countered, forcing them into an error.
Their frustration over that umpires' call only increased when they unsuccessfully protested a couple of close crosses during race four.
"We feel like a lot of calls have gone against us and we are not sure why," complained co-helmsman Dylan Fletcher. "We have to keep it out of the umpires' hands and beat them easily on the water."
Calling out those perceived discrepancies may seem like sour grapes, but it also highlights any favouritism towards the cup defenders and may just swing those decisions the other way next time.
Holding serve
Disregard the opening race — when the Kiwis had more than a month to prepare and enjoyed the advantage of first entry to the startbox — and the inflated margin created by the penalty in race three.
Britannia have been extremely competitive in the two races where they had port entry at the start, losing by only 27 second and 23 seconds respectively. They have been faster downwind, but struggled by comparison when changing directions.
During this rest day, they must first come up with a way to smooth out those transitions to take full advantage of their speed, then steal one of New Zealand's starts off them.
"We're looking at everything and we know they've been looking at our data," said Fletcher. "They've had a big advantage looking at all our onboard data since the Louis Vuitton Cup final, so it's nice that we are finally able to do that with theirs.
"We're looking at that and seeing what they're doing better, and I'm sure they're looking at us still and seeing what we do better. It comes down to fine margins and we're getting faster every day."
Adjustments
There's a big difference between one-off sporting contests and those decided across a series of games or races.
The winners are not always those that strike first, but the ones that can make the best adjustments over the course of the event.
Analysis of video and race data will expose any trends in the opposition's approach, and the Kiwis have already shown their ability to adjust, forcing that pre-start penalty.
How the British respond will be key and they may even have an advantage in this regard, because they have the most short-term room for improvement.
Weather
This America's Cup regatta began in August with the challenger round robin stage. More than a month later, conditions on the Mediterranean have changed.
While Team NZ have been able to hone their boat Taihoro towards current wind expectations, the British have had to build a craft to repel the other challengers in the meantime.
This rest day is a chance to make some physical changes to better exploit the conditions.
Remember, fickle weather played a massive part in robbing Team NZ of glory at San Francisco. At matchpoint, they had a race postponed after taking a startline advantage and another abandoned for running over the time limit with the Kiwis a kilometre ahead.
Sir Ben Ainslie
The four-time Olympic champion has been in this situation before — he was one of the key adjustments made by Oracle in 2013, when he replaced American John Kostecki as tactician.
Like Britannia now, trailing 4-0, Spithill played a postponement card to buy some time, then shocked everyone with a personnel change, relegating Kostecki, who had grown up racing on San Francisco Bay, with Ainslie, who was skipper of the team's training boat.
Together, Spithill and Ainslie masterminded the comeback, so don't be surprised if the British make a similar move.
Ainslie has hinted to The Times it's too early to make drastic changes.
"Maybe if we end up 6-0 down, that's time for a 'Come to Jesus' meeting," he said.
Still, it would take a brave man to leave it that long.
Disaster
At San Francisco, leading 6-0, New Zealand came close to wiping out their boat Aotearoa, when the starboard hull of the AC72 catamaran rose out of the water and it came within a smidgen of capsizing.
Oracle won that race to erase a penalty carried into the series, then won again the next day for their first point.
Last month, the Kiwis missed a race against Britannia during the challenger regatta when their boat was damaged during docking.
They did brilliantly well to limit their absence and return to winning ways, but it shows one second of misfortune — on or off the water — could be enough to turn the tide.
Complacency
As hard as the Brits will be working on their 'day off', the Kiwis must be just as attentive to detail.
The worst thing that could happen is they start feeling comfortable with their scoreboard advantage and take their foot off the throat.
If nothing else, San Francisco has surely taught us that lesson.
Just imagine...
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