AB de Villiers has opened up about the nervous 90s, brutal burnout and the "embarrassment" that stung South Africa into action against Australia.
De Villiers wound back the clock in Port Elizabeth on Sunday, completing his first Test century in more than three years.
That barren stretch includes a period from January 2016 until December 2017, when the 34-year-old took a break from Test cricket.
De Villiers has a knack of saving his best for Australia, with Sunday's unbeaten knock of 126 his sixth Test ton against the tourists.
"I'm always very motivated playing against these guys," de Villiers said.
"The events in the first Test were uncalled for and unnecessary, but I won't say that fired us up.
"Going one-nil down there (fired us up).
"It felt like we were embarrassed in a way on our home soil, so we felt like it was time for us to really get up for it and turn it around."
The rivalry between Australia and South Africa is part of the reason he returned to Test cricket after the sabbatical.
De Villiers insisted he was "always going to come back", but admitted he was completely burnt out prior to taking a break.
"I needed to get away and not really know where I was going," he said.
'I needed that time away to reassess.
"I've never lost my love for the game. I was just tired of playing.
"I was just flat - physically, mentally - and quite a few other factors, I became a dad at the same time.
"I felt like I needed to breathe a little bit."
De Villiers was a class above teammates and Australia's star-studded pace attack at St George's Park, steadying for the hosts after a collapse of 4-28 on day two.
The veteran has now scored 197 runs in the series, with his sole dismissal coming when he was run out for a duck after a mix-up with batting partner Aiden Markram in Durban.
Steve Smith effectively stopped hunting his wicket following the dismissal of Vernon Philander on Sunday, opting for a single slip and eight men on the fence.
De Villiers made batting look outrageously easy but he insisted it was anything but, especially when he approached three figures.
"I was very nervous in the 90s. I don't think it showed but I was telling Vern out there that I was struggling to breathe and my legs literally went numb," he said.
"I was so relieved (to score a century). It was right up there with the best feeling ever.
"I haven't played for a while and you're always just a couple of innings away from people starting to say 'is he still good enough?'"
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