In the room near the main clubhouse in which the Mets hold their hitter and pitching meetings, there is a board updated daily with the NL East standings.

But Buck Showalter erased that, put up just two losing records and quizzed the positional group on what they represented. The answer: What the Braves and Phillies were through this period last year. Both were 20-23 after 43 games in 2022, the same mark as the Mets going into Wednesday night’s game against the Rays.

Atlanta went on to win a fifth straight NL East title. Philadelphia went on to win the NL pennant.

It was yet another attempt in Mets world to accentuate the long season and rally a struggling group to believe what is capable in that time frame.

When I approached Francisco Lindor to talk about that — what is still possible for his struggling club — he said, “First, tell me something I don’t know.” I offered that going into Wednesday that every team in the National League was within 4 ¹/₂ games of a playoff spot and asked if that qualified as something he did not know. Lindor responded, “That would only be knowledge for people who are panicking.”

I asked if he was in that group. He said he had lost zero faith in the Mets’ upside and felt stronger about the group ethos because there has been no finger-pointing.

“I still believe this is a winning team, 100 percent, I do not doubt it,” Lindor said. “I believe we have a winning front office, a winning coaching staff, a winning training staff. We have the elements to win here — 100 percent. No doubt.”

Perhaps that is a forthright sentiment. Perhaps it falls into the “what else could he say” category. But what exactly would you presently like about this team? Ignore the names. Disregard the salaries. The players in Mets uniforms are not excelling at any phase. And it is pretty difficult to win consistently when, you know, your team scores below the league average and allows above it.

Don’t assume because it is a Showalter team that it is playing well technically. Because it is not, especially on the bases where the boneheaded and absentminded have merged.

But there is something else lacking. Ultimately, a team can buy players. It can’t buy culture.

It is why so often the champions of the offseason — usually the teams that spend the most and accumulate stars — do not replicate that title in the actual season. The Mets and Padres are currently the latest 1 and 1A examples.

The Yankees have not played all that well this season yet began Wednesday six games over .500. The Dodgers, despite watching the Padres outspend them in a relatively mild Los Angeles offseason, led the NL West. Those teams have built an institutional knowledge on how to successfully navigate season after season. The Astros, Braves and Rays fall into that category now as well. This kind of organizational DNA cannot be bought, even with Steve Cohen’s largesse.

Teams with strong winning cultures handle the pressure of expectations and the travails of a long season well. The Mets? They can cite injuries, but the Yankees have lost more days. The MLB-best Rays were using an opener for the second straight game at Citi Field due to substantial rotation injuries to Tyler Glasnow, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs. A reminder that the Mets are far from the only team that has endured wide-ranging pitching maladies.

When it comes to the Mets, there is just no historic connectivity of success from one season to the next. They have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons just twice in their history. They have won six division titles in 60-plus years — and 1986 and ’88 are the only times it even happened in the same decade. These days it feels like a different organization in a different era won the 101 games that the Mets did in 2022.

“I think what brings that consistency is knowing who you are,” Showalter said. “We were the little engine that could last year, even with a high payroll, because the manager was new, the coaching staff was new, the owner was basically new and there were a lot of new players. We’re having trouble getting that back.”

Showalter mentioned that it is why it is so important to change the roster dynamic somewhat annually. The Mets are trying that in season by promoting Mark Vientos in hopes he can bring much-needed power while joining Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty to perhaps provide young energy. It is, after all, a long season and — even if Lindor dismissed it as panic — the Mets do reside within a very forgiving NL ecosystem that might not allow them to fall from contention.

There is time for the Mets to get right. But salaries and reputations are not going to do that. It is up to this group to prove that they actually have a winning DNA.