In 2015 when Savea came into All Blacks camp overweight and out of shape, head coach Steve Hansen stood by his man. Savea was put on an extreme conditioning programme behind closed doors and run back into shape.
The repayment for that came in the World Cup quarterfinal against France where Savea was devastating.
Again, last year, when Savea turned up to play Super Rugby heavier and less conditioned than he should have been, the All Blacks were there to pick up the pieces.
Savea once again had the protective arm around him and was given time to build his confidence without the fear of being axed used against him.
The All Blacks' return on investment was a powerful outing from Savea against the Wallabies at Eden Park - one that assured them of winning their record 18th game in a row.
There are now, however, two major reasons for the All Blacks coaches to evaluate whether they are willing to extend Savea's line of credit.
The first is that they have an increased number of wing alternatives to consider. Rieko Ioane, Israel Dagg and Waisake Naholo provided, to varying degrees, evidence during the Lions tour why they deserve to be picked.
Milner-Skudder is also returning to form after the better part of 18 months out of the game and with Jordie Barrett having established his value at fullback, it is fortunate - for someone - that Smith is taking his much-needed sabbatical after the two tests against the Wallabies.
The second factor squeezing a little more pressure on Savea is the international game's reversion to a greater volume of kick and chase.
Much like 2009, the appetite for aerially adept wings is strong and ability under the high ball is creeping up the priority list in the selection template.
Savea is by no means a horror show in this area, but it's not a natural strength and he will have to be offering so much as a power runner and finisher if his relative weakness to deal with aerial bombardment is to be overlooked.
So on the eve of the Rugby Championship, it would appear there are two distinct paths in front of Savea.
Down one path lies reclamation of the All Blacks No 11 jersey and the all-time try-scoring record. This is the path he would chose.
It's the one most everyone would chose for him, too. If he's to find his way there, it will mean he has rediscovered the confidence and ability to rip defences apart.
It will mean he is again hungry to have his hands on the ball and able to leave a path of destruction in his wake. Much like the big clue to Daniel Carter's confidence level was the state of his running game, when Savea is in the right head space, he'll show it by charging over the top of defenders.
It has been too long since he was doing that consistently. Too long since he was scoring tries for fun and the All Blacks coaches will feel like they need Savea's form and not his reputation to be justifying his future selection.
Down the other path lies more time in the stands, more questions about whether he can ever again be the player who earned the accolade of being deemed, by no less a judge than All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, to be a better all-round wing than Jonah Lomu.
But there may also be a distinct end point on that path - one where at the end of the Rugby Championship he's told the time has come to invest in others.
Selectors aren't so different to banks - at some stage they need to call in the debt. No All Black can survive indefinitely on memories of what they once were.
It's not that anyone should believe Savea won't be able to do what he needs to do to preserve his All Blacks career, but nor should they simply make the assumption that he can.
He'll be trapped in this netherworld until he can provide defintive proof one way or the other during the Rugby Championship.
