Hell West & Crooked - I think it's a reflection that players aren't robots and are prone to feeling pressure and having good and bad days just like everyone else.
The very few players who are consistently good everytime they take the field are few and far between and that's why they're the best players in the game. It's not like it's an easy thing to achieve.
I don't think it has anything to do with lack of trying.
partially why I think the real problems are so complex... I don't think its lack of trying either - I think it is twofold;
1. Trying - but with a limited vision of what you CAN achieve - (put simply, whether you really think you can win or not)... example - English tennis players until last week / English Cricket teams for around 21 years - not now).
2. Ability to accept second-place as an option- many are okay with that, only a relative few cannot accept it.
The All Blacks are not Robots - but they Rarely ever accept that they are going to not win a game... mentally, they 'see no reason' to lose a game. It is a very different mindset to "we tried hard, but fell short (month-in, month out)... An All-Black Team would have gone on to win after pulling back within 3 points (9 times out of 10) - no-one watching the Wallabies could honestly argue they were fully confident in their ability to go on with it, at that same point (as a culture).
The (old) Australian cricket team are not robots - but they also rarely ever entered a game not believing they would walk away with a win, and keep in mind that this mindset had to be maintained for 5 long, consecutive days at a time - not just 90 minutes.
Roger Federer at his peak, was no Robot.
Mick Doohan was no robot.
Kelly Slater is no robot.
Finally, keep in mind, that we are talking about a team with only a 56 - 58% win rate - and I am suggesting the reasons why this is not 55, 65 or 75% is mental - its not ability. You simply cannot watch them play so often like Champions the week AFTER a series is lost, and not take notice of what your eyes and ears are telling you.
This is not to say they are bad, lazy or not trying - it is simply acknowledging something very clear in Australian Rugby that is little talked about. To me, it has been a clear trend since the late 90s / early noughties.