James Faulkner received limited feedback from selectors after being dumped from the national one-day side but the allrounder knew a dodgy knee was something he could easily try to improve.
Faulkner was left out of Australia's Champions Trophy squad, with Trevor Hohns' panel preferring Moises Henriques and Marcus Stoinis in the absence of injured allrounder Mitch Marsh.
The fall from grace stung Faulkner, who had been considered among the nation's best white-ball cricketers after being crowned player of the 2015 World Cup final.
The 27-year-old, who has been managing a chronic knee injury in recent years, used the unexpected time at home to "get strong and fit again".
"It was pretty tough ... any time you get left out it is not great fun," Faulkner told reporters in Chennai, where he is set to feature in Australia's ODI series against India starts on Sunday.
"You have to rely on your friends and family (for support), your teammates as well.
"But it is up to you to get back.
"I've have a good chance now to have four months away from the game, have a bit of a pre-season."
Faulkner added he "didn't get too much feedback" from selectors earlier this year.
"They said the pace had dropped down a little bit maybe. I bowl a lot of variations, so it's a tough one," he said.
"I have been battling, probably the last 18 months ... just physically with my knee and the state that it has been in.
"It is as good as it's been at the moment, so I'm pretty happy."
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