That is not to say he has lost his enthusiasm to play for his country again.
Far from it. He'll slip on a Black Cap in a heartbeat.
Neither has he lost his incisive mind.
"Why is Mathew Sinclair not there?' he asks. "What does it [selection] come down to? Performance or experience?"
Perceptively, it seems the record-breaking domestic run scorer has done his dash.
For all intents and purposes, he is a victim of ageism. "I don't know what to say," he says.
Seconds later a dose of realism kicks in.
He agrees it's great to have his name thrown into the mix but with a rash of new generation cricketers such as the Bracewells, Williamsons and Boults featuring, it does banish him to the ranks of the Dad's Army.
It seems a dying shame that a man of immense all-round cricketing skills, including wicketkeeping and batting prowess, could end up eking out a living in a nine-to-five occupation rather than helping groom the future Black Caps and Whites Ferns of tomorrow.
His acquisition of a new job - a three-month contract with the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce ending on October 26 - excites him, though.
He'll be the go-to guy for business people from Waipukurau up to Wairoa.
"It's unbelievable, isn't it?"
It is.
"What does it say in about cricket in general?"
Tragically, there isn't anything going here cricket-wise for the father of two children.
Ironically, the chamber job came via former Cricket Players' Association career and personal development officer Aidan Hobson, who had the task of helping outgoing internationals find meaningful occupations to pursue life after cricket.
That led to a meeting with Napier City Council contact Ron Massey, who threw Sinclair a three-month lifeline which the cricketer gleefully accepted considering it'll allow him to resume his campaign for a predominantly youthful Stags from October 26.
Domestic cricketers are contracted for only six months through summer, unlike other countries such as county wallahs in England and counterparts in Australia, who have year-long deals.
"I'll be reassessing my cricketing options in April next year," he says, mulling over whether he'll drop the four-day Plunket Shield campaign, as ex-Black Caps seamer Michael Mason did last summer, or pulling the stumps on his career altogether for some financial stability.
However, he feels New Zealand is lucky to have six major associations, taking into account its playing population.
He accepts he had his chance at the elite level although he didn't do as well as he would have liked to but there were "other factors".
"Those other things matter so watch out for my book," says the Napier Old Boys' Marist cricketer, suspecting his biography will be launched when he retires.
For now, Sinclair and Jamie How are itching to work with youngsters such as batsman William Young at Stags level under coach Alan Hunt and his assistant, Lance Hamilton, with the exodus of the "old order" such as Mason and Peter Ingram.
Sinclair feels the Black Caps coach should always be a New Zealander, backing Otago's Mike Hesson to be at the helm well before director of NZ Cricket John Buchanan aired a similar stance on Thursday.
"You have to also look at guys like Grant Bradburn who is working with all those Black Caps in his Northern Districts squad."
It is vital to appoint coaches, Sinclair says, who will not try to rip apart techniques of players.
