Canberra Capitals coach Kristen Veal finds a silver lining in the struggle during WNBL season

But sport doesn't work like that.

Nice if it did, sure, but the Canberra Capitals know just wishing for a win won't be enough when they face Lauren Jackson and the Southside Flyers at Melbourne's State Basketball Centre on Wednesday.

The Capitals are 0-9 to start the season. American import Dekeiya Cohen has already jumped ship. Tahlia Tupaea will miss the entire season on personal leave. And Gemma Potter? She might be the unluckiest rising star in the league after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament again. Toss in injuries to Jade Melbourne and Rae Burrell, and Shaneice Swain's short-term personal leave, for good measure.

Then there's the club staff members watching social media comment sections like hawks to block the vitriol before it can seep into the team's pores.

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So, how's life as a WNBL coach?

"It's a big learning curve," Veal said.

"In terms of the adversity that's gone on, you know it can happen but you don't expect it. It's not really the norm, what's gone on this year is probably outside of that.

"The silver lining to it is there is no way this is not going to add value down the track, personally and hopefully to this program, to this era."

A first-time head coach has been dealt a hand that would force plenty to fold. The house is winning right now, but Veal won't leave the table, even if the Capitals spend a year out of championship contention.

Where they can consolidate, Veal says, is through the next two to three years, by retaining young talent and keeping key older pieces around them - otherwise you're playing chess with a board full of pawns.

"They're an exciting bunch when it all clicks," Veal said.

Only, the style the group wants to play - the one that comes naturally - requires the squad to stick together for some time. Stay together, and the Capitals will offer an exciting brand of basketball - but too many moving pieces every winter means "it's probably going to be a little bit too chaotic".

Keeping a core group together in the WNBL is easier said than done. The Capitals managed it under Paul Goriss en route to back-to-back titles, but it's a difficult proposition in a league where season-by-season contracts are the norm.

"We know why it's hard, because people want to chase a little bit more money, sometimes they want a different opportunity," Veal said.

"But then you look at Townsville, the core of the Melbourne Boomers have stayed together for a long time, and the core of Southside have been together for a little while.

"You can do it, I think you've just got to create the right environment to keep challenging them in a really good way for them to improve and also have some success along the way. I think we are doing that as a program, so we've just got to retain these guys and continue to add the right pieces to make sure success can complement the growth."

Capitals fans almost expect success. Why else would trolls be coming out of the woodwork on social media? They've been treated to a golden era under Carrie Graf and a resurgence under Goriss.

But among those euphoric highs were record losing streaks and years spent out of playoff contention.

Veal has little time for those who want to sit back and fire shots, confident the majority will stay the course and will Canberra to their first win of the season.

"Sometimes they're the ones who have kept the perspective for us and been like 'No, actually that was so much better than the week before and the start of the season'," Veal said.

"They've really bought into the players, the effort, and the growth. That's what, deep down, most fans want to see. They want to see us as role models they would want for their kids, themselves and their communities.

"The other really cool thing is this is a young squad, a young team and a young program this community can actually grow with again, and spend some quality time with over the next five to 10 years, not just the next one or two years."

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