Yet another early exit from a major cricket tournament has left White Ferns skipper feeling really "crappy".
New Zealand came up short against Australia in a virtual knockout group match at the Women's T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Monday.
Chasing 155 for victory and a spot in the semi-finals, the White Ferns could only muster 151, ending their campaign and marking the third straight ICC tournament where New Zealand had failed to escape the group stages.
New Zealand's 2018 T20 World Cup was a complete disisater, with heavy losses to Australia and India, which came a year after they failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup semi-finals in England.
Rated as the world's second-best T20 batswoman, Devine was gutted by the mistimed run chase that left New Zealand's middle order with too much to do in the final five overs.
"I think, skill-wise, we are there," Devine said afterwards. "Everyone knows we are a really talented side and we've got the depth.
"We've seen today that, despite me not firing, Suzie [Bates] and Rachel [Priest] not firing, we came really close to chasing down a strong Australian side.
"Whether it's a mindset, whether it's a mental thing, whether it's game awareness, whether it's just experience of playing in those pressure situations...
"We haven't played too much international cricket together in the last 12 months, whether that's something, but when we get back home, we'll certainly go through everything and nitpick at it, because it is a crappy feeling to miss out again.
"It's really raw, but we certainly want to keep pushing and showing that we deserve to be there."
After former coach Haidee Tiffen's departure in 2019, which came amid a well-publicised player revolt, New Zealand Cricket implemented major changes, not only to coaching staff, but also giving domestic cricket players significant pay hikes in a bid to keep young talent in the game.
Meanwhile, Bob Carter was recruited as a coach, bringing former Blackcaps internationals Jacob Oram and Rob Nicol in an overhaul of the staff.
Devine believes the changes have been positive, particularly given some of the talented youngsters on display in Australia, including teenage sensation Amelia Kerr.
"To get Bob [Carter] involved has been huge," said Devine. "But we've only played two series in that time with him at the helm.
"We still certainly are trying to figure each other out a little bit, me and Bob, but I think there have been really positive signs there.
"As I said, we were actually really close. The India game and now here [against Australia], we were really close to [beating] sides with a lot more money, a lot more resources, a lot more player depth, and we took them within five or six runs.
"It shows that we are not far, but we have got to do things maybe slightly differently in New Zealand, because we don't have the same amount of depth, resources.
"We certainly have things in our favour and that's what we keep working with."
New Zealand now focus on preparing for a 50-over World Cup to be staged at home in 2021.
