The prospect of missing the Super Rugby playoffs for a fifth successive season is driving the Hurricanes, according to captain Conrad Smith.
A loss to the defending champion Chiefs in Wellington on Saturday would be the Hurricanes' seventh of an inconsistent campaign.
No team with seven losses has ever reached the Super Rugby playoffs, leaving the Hurricanes to potentially endure a painstaking three-week break for the June international window with nothing to play for when the competition resumes.
Smith was pleased with the commitment shown at a physical training session on Thursday ahead of a pivotal match against the third-placed New Zealand conference leaders.
"We realise there's a lot riding on this and we've got to try and channel it in the right way," he said.
"It shows how much it means to the boys, you'd be disappointed if it didn't matter.
"The guys have put a lot of energy into the season, and we realise it's all riding on these next four weeks and we can't slip up."
Last week's 18-16 home loss to the Highlanders was a gutting result but Smith says his eighth-placed team can't dwell on it.
Instead, he says they should extract positives, such as keeping their tryline clean for the first time in 30 games, and prepare for a Chiefs side who play in a markedly different way to the kick-heavy Highlanders.
"They're great at seizing little opportunities that don't normally exist and that other teams may overlook," Smith said.
"From there they'll suck out a game if that's what's required with a good forward pack and they're really good defensively as well."
The Chiefs sat out a bye last week following a last-start 32-20 win over the Blues - arguably their best performance in a season where they have struggled to uncover their best form consistently.
They once again have made a host of changes, most notably in the backline but Smith says the visitors won't miss a beat.
"They change personnel and they manage to keep performing, there's a few signatures about their play you know you're going to get."
The Hurricanes will make a late decision on whether influential first five-eighth Beauden Barrett starts the game after suffering a painful hip injury against the Highlanders.
Rival All Blacks five-eighth Aaron Cruden is on the Chiefs' reserve bench, making a return after breaking his thumb six weeks ago.
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