Bowen Byram counts each morning that he wakes up without a headache as a gift.

The Colorado Avalanche defenseman once experienced life while stuck in a fog.

You certainly couldn’t tell watching Byram play since returning from a lower-body injury this season, with two goals and three assists over his previous five games. But he endured three concussions to begin his NHL career; resulting in Byram missing the majority of his first two Avalanche seasons. The last notable hit — an inadvertent elbow Nov. 11, 2021, from then Vancouver forward Bo Horvat — sent Byram down a dark path.

“It was tough for me because I felt like that for so long that I didn’t know what it was like to feel normal, you know?” Byram said Tuesday from the Avalanche dressing room inside the team’s practice facility. “It’s hard to decipher through what you’re feeling. … You could miss four months like I did. Or you could miss three days.”

Byram’s refreshing transparency about his concussion past is especially notable these days with a black cloud hanging over Colorado; the long-term health of star defenseman Cale Makar.

He’ll miss the next two games, and potentially more, after re-entering the concussion protocol this week. Makar endured high contact twice over a span of just 12 days and returned to play in each road game (Pittsburgh and St. Louis). His concussion symptoms did not appear until the next morning.

Coach Jared Bednar stood behind the team’s decision allowing Makar to play after apparent head injuries. Makar passed the in-game protocol needed to return against the Penguins. His injury against the Blues was initially classified as “nose” instead of “head” and Makar was not pulled by the concussion spotter. But is the NHL doing enough to prevent head injuries?

Byram’s insight comes from personal experience.

“The league and our team protocols do as much as they can,” Byram told The Denver Gazette. “At some point, it’s up to the player, yourself, to decide when you’re ready to go. Or not ready to go. I’ve never pointed fingers from my recent head injuries … and I know Cale hasn’t, either. We all know it’s a contact sport and injuries are going to happen. Obviously, you never want to miss games or have a concussion. It sucks.

“But we all signed up for it. Nobody is crying about it. We feel for Cale. We want him in the lineup, obviously. But he knows his body. Our training staff and him are going to work through it. Try to get him ready to go again. When that might be, I don’t know.”

Byram, when asked to re-examine the return timeline from his last concussion, said: “I probably could have been playing a lot sooner, to be honest. I just wasn’t comfortable.” He missed nearly three months of the 2021-22 season. It wasn’t easy to sit back and watch.

“It’s good to be safe with those things, but at the same time, you want to be out playing,” Byram said. “You’re getting pulled in two different directions. It’s a difficult thing to deal with. It’s not easy or fun by any means. I don’t have any regrets.”

Byram, the Avalanche’s foremost expert on challenge of returning from concussions, has complete trust in the team’s medical staff to properly address head injuries.

“I don’t know how many concussions I’ve had now. Three or whatever. Never once have I been pushed into a position of playing,” Byram said. “It’s not like that at all here. Our trainers do a good job of making sure we’re comfortable and ready to go. There’s never any pressure from any part of our team; whether it’s other players, management, training staff or whatever it might be. It’s really up to you and I think that’s important.”

What’s next: The Avalanche (31-19-5) face the Winnipeg Jets (35-21-1), 6 p.m. Friday (Altitude TV) at Canada Life Centre.