Every five games, the 2021 Orioles relaxed.

The position players knew they wouldn’t go up to hit already in a deficit. The relief pitchers could take a deep breath. They would not be taxed that night. And the young starters, struggling to find their footing in the major leagues, would line up on the railing to watch in awe. It was time for their lesson.

There was not much glee in a clubhouse that lost 110 games. But, every time he took the ball, John Means showed them what greatness could look like and that perhaps they all had some within them too.

“Just watching while the rest of us [were] wallowing in self-pity,” Dean Kremer said. “We were making it look so hard, and he was making it look so easy.”

That next generation of pitchers — the ones who used Means as their inspiration — is now the backbone of an Orioles team on pace to win over 100 games for the second season in row. Means, though, is the one in the dugout watching this time.

He has made just 10 starts since the 2021 season ended. After his first Tommy John elbow surgery in 2022 and a second in June, it’s unknown if he will ever take the mound for the Orioles again. Although Means intends to rehab and make a comeback, he will be a free agent after this season and the recovery is 12 to 18 months.

After being one of the few bright spots during three 100-loss seasons, Means may never get to be a part of the Orioles’ success. His teammates, though, say that’s not true. If he hadn’t shown them the way, they wouldn’t be in the position they are now.

“He was the first to have success during the rebuild,” Kremer said. “Watching him do his thing and pitch incredibly well ... that was eye-opening for me, especially being surrounded by so much struggle and negativity.”

Means, an 11th-round draft pick in 2014, was called up at the end of the 2018 season. A switch flipped in him, outfielder Austin Hays recalled. Means was always professional. But, when he got to the majors, his changeup suddenly played up more and his fastball was more aggressive.

“He just went to another place mentally and it showed up on the mound,” Hays said. “He took full advantage of that opportunity he got.”

In 2019, he was their lone All-Star. Two years later, he threw a no-hitter in Seattle. It was the first, and still only, time most of his teammates had seen a no-hitter in person.

They were more nervous than Means was. Kremer said the other starters didn’t acknowledge Means, worried they would disrupt his focus. Hays took a different approach. He caught a ball up against the wall in the sixth inning, and it was hard to know if he had robbed a homer or not.

When they came back into the dugout, Means retreated into isolation. Hays stared him down. Means responded with a smirk.

“I just remember that being so funny,” Hays said. “No one was saying anything, and I’m like dapping him up and we’re laughing with each other.”

But that’s the player Means is, and the one who taught the other starters they could be too. When it’s time to work, he’s all business and sets an example for others on how to go about your routine.

“There was nothing part of his schedule that wasn’t organized and ready to go,” Cole Irvin said. “All of us, certainly myself, recognize that small little detail. He was very regimented about making sure he got the things done that he needed to get done.”

When it wasn’t time to work — or during the relaxed months of spring training — Means showed it was OK to have fun, whether it was playing Monopoly Deal in the clubhouse or trash talking hitters on the backfields in Sarasota, Florida.

“He likes to trash talk and go back and forth with guys,” Hays said. “It was just fun stuff like ‘you can’t hit me. You aren’t going to hit me today.”

As Means rehabbed from the first Tommy John surgery, he stayed around the team as much as possible. He could not play for most of the year, but the team was diving into uncharted waters and no one on the pitching staff had been in a playoff hunt. As the veteran of the group, he wanted to help.

“He was very positive; he never made it about himself,” Kremer said. “He was always there if we needed an ear.”

The first comeback took 17 months. He’s taking the second day by day, planning to spend time with his family as he recovers.

He may not be around as much this season — or at all after this year if he doesn’t re-sign with the Orioles. If it is the end of his time in Baltimore, that next generation of pitchers will carry on the legacy he started.

“Those guys are really talented, and those guys are great pitchers,” Means said. “That’s always what I want to voice, anyone can do this. Everybody has the ability. It’s just the mentality of it.”