So he can understand why "role model" Daniel Tupou, who has gone through 15 such summers since joining the Sydney Roosters, would be deliberating his playing future.
Having brought up his 300-game milestone earlier this month, Tupou will turn his attention to 2027 over the coming weeks.
Tupou, the NRL's seventh-oldest active player, turns 36 next June but still ranks among the league's elite wingers, scoring 11 tries from 11 games this year.
The Roosters have an appetite to keep Tupou, who would almost certainly become the club's most-capped player if he played into a 16th season.
Coach Trent Robinson indicated last week Tupou's future would be determined by "whether he feels like he's at that level where he's got the energy" to continue.
The Roosters' other first-choice winger, Nawaqanitawase has been in awe of Tupou's stamina since hopping codes to rugby league in 2024.
"He's been my role model. Most of the things I've taken out of the game are from him," Nawaqanitawase told AAP.
Former Wallaby and Olympian Nawaqanitawase was physically tested by his first NRL pre-season.
Clubs often hold multiple sessions each day of pre-season, from field work to weights, running to wrestling.
It is often done in searing heat, with Nawaqanitawase pushing himself too far one day in his first summer with the Roosters.
The winger was not yet accustomed to NRL training standards, and was pulled out of a field session by club staff who noticed he was struggling.
"My second day I passed out, when I first started," Nawaqanitawase said.
"It was like 34 degrees, I had long sleeves on. That was the one day I did sun protection.Â
"I wear singlets now, that's all I wear.
"It was a tough day in the office for me. It gave me a wake-up call. (But) it made me realise I can do a lot more than what I have done previously."
Nawaqanitawase, who joins Japanese rugby side Saitama Wild Knights next year, thinks Tupou is mad for signing up to do as many pre-season as he has.
"I'm leaving because of the pre-seasons," Nawaqanitawase joked.
"I don't know how he's done it for 14 years. I think he's crazy."
The pre-seasons have shown Nawqanitawase just how elite the NRL's longest-serving players are.
"People think, 'They're footy players, they just play footy and chill'," he said.
"Honestly, I would love to see someone try a day (of pre-season). Until you're actually in it, you don't realise that we actually put ourselves through the wringer. It's a tough gig."
Whether or not Tupou follows him out the door at the Roosters, Nawaqanitawase says he'll leave a fitter player than he arrived.
"I'm confident that I can do a lot more than what I did previously," he said.
"I feel like I've come out a physically better player."
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