GREEN BAY – The warm breezes off the Pacific Ocean can cure a lot of ills, the sweet scents of Hawaii making even the hardest of times seem worth it.
Such is life outside of the bubble.
Tramon Williams and John Kuhn know this. To get there, however, to truly appreciate it, they had to survive within it. And that can be the most difficult of existences.
All around them on Lambeau Field Thursday night were teammates living where they were. The Green Bay Packers' 24-3 preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs was the last opportunity for many of them on to make an impression and survive the last round of cuts.
In 2006 Williams was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Houston Texans out of Louisiana Tech. He was cut on Sept. 3, then sat idle for over two months before the Packers signed him to its practice squad on Nov. 29.
Four years later, he was named to the Pro Bowl.
Kuhn was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers on the final cut for three straight years from before the Packers claimed him on Sept. 2, 2007.
Four years later, he was named to the Pro Bowl.
They represent the pinnacle of what can happen if you bust the bubble, from undrafted free agent to Super Bowl champion to being considered one of the best at your position.
But, they're not the only ones. The Packers roster is littered with key contributors whose career began on the precipice, where every practice and preseason play meant everything.
Jarrett Bush represents that group.
The cornerback is entering his seventh year in the league after he didn't make it out of the bubble during training camp with the Carolina Panthers in 2006. He was a playoff captain in 2011 and had an interception in Super Bowl XLV.
"The guys that I looked up to, when I was with Carolina, they just told me to play your heart out and let the pieces fall where they may," Bush remembered. "There was no guarantee what was going to happen but all I could was control what I could control."
Bush said he went out and played hard, but made sure he was as technically sound as he could be physically and mentally.
"It all goes back to being reliable and being accountable on the football field," he said. "It's huge because you still have to earn respect from the players."
Now in a mentoring role, Bush found himself telling his teammates that were on the field late Thursday the same things.
"For a lot of guys, it shows about their character and you see what they're capable of," Bush said. "I wish the best for those guys."
Such pressure can make operating in the bubble suffocating for some, especially in the final days of evaluation, and in the final game action of the preseason. There are always several players trying to breathe the same air, multiple hands trying to get on the same ball.
That was the case Thursday, where wide receivers Tori Gurley (2 catches, 69 yards), Diondre Borel (2 catches, 27 yards) and Jarrett Boykin (5 catches, 82 yards, TD) set out to earn a spot on the Packers' opening weekend roster.
Borel and Gurley had been through this before, having been cut at this time last year before being signed to the Packers practice squad.
"I think I'm going to be able to sleep good tonight because I put out great film," Gurley said. "That's all the coaches have been talking to us about. They're like hey, everybody's watching but you need to just continue to do the little things. Finally, the little things I've done showed up with big play results."
The three receivers, and many others, will learn their fate soon enough, if they fought their way out of the bubble – at least for this year.
"It's going to be a stressful 24 hours," conceded second year running back Alex Green. "It's going to be one of those things where you play the waiting game and you're kind of hoping not to get a phone call this time around, as opposed to draft day. A lot of guys worked hard and a lot of guys deserve it. We'll see what happens."
