A corner has been turned mentally, at least, with Williams admitting his mindset hasn't been right in the opening weeks of the season. If he can fix that, return to living in the present and focusing on nothing but his next performance, he feels he'll grind his way back to form; that the Blues, if his team-mates can undergo the same process of readjustment, will also salvage something from this campaign.
Clarity has often been the missing ingredient in the Williams mix. It's an age ago now, hard to remember, but his brain was just as scrambled after the 2003 World Cup. Williams was colossal throughout 2003 and then vanished in 2004. He was cast adrift mentally, unable to put the debacle of the bombed World Cup campaign behind him. It took until the end of season tour for things to come right but even then, despite a critical shortage of test locks, the All Black coaches kept Williams at arm's length. He was on the bench while Norm Maxwell, held together with tape and bits of wire, was asked to lead the charge.
Williams fell into a similar dark hole this time last year. He'd clawed his way back to fitness after two years of injury and began to ask too much of himself. It took a chat with then All Blacks forwards coach Steve Hansen to coax him back into the right head space. Hansen made it simple - told Williams to forget all about his injuries, to forget about the time he had missed and just play.
This time he's arrived at the same conclusion independently - well, just about. "I've had a little moment," says Williams. "I had it by myself and it probably happened straight after the Stormers game. I phoned my wife and we had a good yarn. But my old man... he shoots the straightest. He sent me a text that pretty much said 'you are playing like shit' and that was exactly what I needed."
Discarding the mental clutter is not in itself reason to believe all will soon be well again in the world of Williams. In the past, that might have been the case - in his peak years, 2005-2008, there was never any question he had the physical package to establish himself as one of the world's best locks. When Williams got everything right back then, he was unforgettably good. He beat up the Lions in 2005, had a huge game against the French at the 2007 World Cup and wiped the floor with everyone he encountered in 2008.
A rare combination of athleticism, doggedness and precision micro skills, Williams was an All Black jewel - a player the rest of the world envied and admired.
These days, that certainty is no longer there. He'll shortly turn 31, not old for a test lock, but there are enough miles on his clock to wonder whether his best years are behind him.
Around the country there is emerging talent: Sam Whitelock will be an All Black for an age; Jarrad Hoeata wants to be the new Brad Thorn, so too does Anthony Boric and then there is the fast improving Brodie Retallick who doesn't seem to be able to do much wrong.
Williams is off contract at the end of the year and it will be natural for some to wonder whether he'd be best to head offshore, to France, where a lock of his standing could earn a serious living on reputation alone.
"It does dawn on you that there is an end and sometimes people don't want you," says Williams. "But I have made it quite clear to everyone that I love playing in this country. I love playing for the Blues and I love playing for the All Blacks. Where do I sit right now in terms of the All Blacks ... I'd say quite low down, to be honest. But the only person that can fix it is me and the only person that wants to fix it is me."
Williams is not ready to slope off just yet. While it's hard to know whether he really can be the same player he was in 2008, he can almost certainly be a better player than he's been in the opening weeks of 2012.
At this point, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. He is not the only World Cup-winning AB yet to find form. History shows that it is almost inevitable that elite athletes fall flat after achieving a major goal. Olympic gold medallists tend to struggle the year after and the magnitude of what the 2011 All Blacks achieved is hard to comprehend.
They made amends for the car-crash of 2007 and laid to rest several other World Cup ghosts. A nation expected and a team delivered - that's rare, a moment to treasure and it shouldn't be a surprise that Williams and others are having difficulty leaving it behind.
"I think a lot of people don't understand that it wasn't just a year," he says. "After we lost in 2007, instantly it turned to an October, 23, 2011 challenge. That's what we had and that is why we need to re-focus. I don't think you lose the hunger, you just have to re-direct yourself."
