June in Melbourne is a pessimist's playground.
The prospect of a bitter, cold winter can affect even the most optimistic outlook.
For Demons fans, and even the club itself, it is their natural habitat. For so long they have feared the worst and not even bothered to hope for the best.
But 2017 has presented a clear shift in mindset at Melbourne. The Demons sit in ninth spot on the AFL ladder at the halfway mark of the season, one game out of the eight with five wins and five losses to the bye, with a game in hand.
Melbourne midfielder Dom Tyson has described the first half of the season as just a par score. That in itself is a significant shift. The club hasn't won more than 10 games in a season for a decade. Now five wins at halfway is barely a pass mark for the group.
"I think early days in my time at the club it was more about competing," Tyson told ESPN.
"You don't really like to talk about results. It was all about, just compete and see where that gets us.
"Now we feel like we're in a position where we can compete with any opposition and we might be able to win games not playing our absolute best. We can be in games at three-quarter time where previously we might have been 20 or 30 points down. We feel like we've hit a minimum standard of footy that allows us to compete. So now it's finding ways to win games and getting some results and rewards for our effort."
It's prompted a readjustment in goals from coach Simon Goodwin. He articulated that to the players in a meeting over the bye period.
"We are in the position where we can push towards finals and that's obviously our goal and we're not shying away from that," Tyson said.
"We're hoping to play finals this year. We think that if we go 6-6 (from here) it probably won't be enough.
"So we spoke about just finding that little edge. Whatever you're doing now, OK, it might get you into a position to be thereabouts but can we do a little bit more.
"Can three or four guys grab some other guys and get some more touch done or some extra recovery. Just things like that which we just feel we could, not sharpen up on, but just increase, and hopefully that gives us a little edge to get on the positive side of the ledger and push towards finals."
Just doing enough at training to compete is no longer good enough.
It is a leaf from the Michael Phelps playbook. The most decorated Olympian of all time attacked his training with a simple acronym in mind, FILO, first in (the pool) last out. The more he trained compared to his opponents, the better chance he had of beating them.
There is a shift in belief in games as well. The Demons produced a stunning four-quarter performance against Adelaide in Adelaide. But Tyson said they have gained as much confidence from the win over Gold Coast, after trailing the Suns by five goals during the third term.
"Our ability to maybe fight through a poor half or a poor quarter and work our way back into a game and get into a position to win is probably just as rewarding as pulling out a four-quarter performance," Tyson said.
"You probably get as much confidence out of each one of those wins because you found a way to win not playing your best."
The other positive for the Demons is they have stayed in the finals race despite huge personnel issues. All Australian ruckman Max Gawn and talented young forward Jesse Hogan have been unavailable for large portions of the first half of the season. But the Demons haven't wilted as a result.
"You've just got to front up with what's available each week and do what you can with what you've got," Tyson said.
"We feel like we have the depth to cover injuries. But it will be nice to get the quality of Jesse and Max back. Both are outstanding members of our side. They're top five players for us in terms of their importance to the team I think. We're not counting down the days. It's in due course but we're excited to get those guys back for sure."
But the Demons have been here before. A win on Queen's Birthday Monday last year had them 6-6 with 10 games to go, but they lost six of the last 10.
It will be fresh in the mind of Demon fans, but Tyson insists the players have not even thought about it.
For so long there's been no light at the end of the tunnel. But this year, the Demons seem determined to find it.