Darcy Graham says losing his starting place for Scotland helped fuel his impactful performance off the bench in last weekend's Six Nations win over Wales.
Graham scored his 35th Test try in the 23-26 win - taking him level with Duhan van der Merwe as his country's all-time leading try scorer.
He has been among the replacements for Scotland's past three outings and he admits it has been difficult.
"It's been a tough couple of months," Graham said.
"Coming off the benches is hard. It's been something totally different and I've had to adjust to it.
"The way the team's announced you have a wee 10-minute sulk and then you're straight on the training park to prove why you should be there."
Asked if being dropped had given him added motivation, Graham said: "Of course. You always want to be starting in these big games.
"But the way Kyle [Steyn] is playing he deserves every minute that he's playing. Steyno's playing unbelievable.
"He's world class and he's raised the bar, especially when I came into camp as I had to catch up.
"I'm glad to still be involved and bring my energy because these wins are special."
Graham said his try against Wales came after a quick nod with fly-half Finn Russell.
Wales had just kicked a penalty to extend their lead to 23-12 before Graham gathered Russell's restart to score.
"Finn said as they were taking the penalty 'Darcy, be ready'. I've seen him sprint up to the halfway line and he gave me the nod," the winger said.
"I gave him a nod and I knew it was on. So I just went as hard as I could for that ball and got a lucky bounce.
"He's obviously seen that space and it worked out. I'll probably never get a bounce like that again."