Stephen Strasburg appeared back to normal in his spring debut. And that’s a promising sign.

“Okay, Stephen!” barked another. “A good step!”

“Welcome back, Stras!” came a third. “You looked good!”

And yeah, Stephen Strasburg was fine across five outs and 38 pitches Tuesday night. That was perhaps the evening’s most encouraging outcome. It was the first time he’d faced live opponents since Aug. 14, 2020. That night in Baltimore was defined by Strasburg shaking his hand, grimacing behind the mound, then exiting after facing three batters. Next was season-ending carpal tunnel surgery at the end of that month. After that, once healed from the procedure, Strasburg stared down the winter, picked up a baseball and started again.

That’s the vicious cycle of his 11-year career: He shines until his body becomes a roadblock. Then he recovers. Then he starts again. Then he shines until his body becomes a roadblock. Then he recovers. And then he starts again.

“For the most part, spring training hasn’t really been an issue for me in the past,” said Strasburg, who added that Tuesday didn’t feel any different than other exhibition debuts. “It’s been more wearing down at some point during the season. The biggest thing is just listening to your body. I do have a tendency to try and work on things a little bit too much in between when the results aren’t there.

“I feel like with age and stuff, if I’m able to be in a situation where you’ve got a routine and you’ve got a training staff, I feel pretty confident about putting myself in a good position to help the team win every five days.”

By following with a 1.98 ERA in 36⅓ playoff innings, Strasburg seemed as durable as ever. But that only made the summer of 2020 more frustrating for him and the Nationals. His hand began tingling at the start of summer training. It woke him in the middle of the night. The surgery kept him from reaching his desired workload for the fifth time in eight seasons.

Some of those rehabs were harder than others. After he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010, he had to relearn his throwing mechanics. This surgery, though, left him feeling normal on the other side. The ball didn’t feel like a foreign object in his massive right hand. It was the same ball he’s thrown his whole life.

“We’re going to keep a close eye on him for sure, just like I do with anybody else,” Manager Dave Martinez said Tuesday. “But for me, he looks as normal as normal can be.”

For Strasburg, normal on Tuesday was having fastball command that alluded him in 2020. It was striking out Myles Straw and Carlos Correa with heat that clipped the corners. It was topping out at 93 mph, a good sign for him, while his velocity sat between 91 and 92. And normal was also just being on the mound.

He will turn 33 years old in July. At that age, with all the wear on his arm, he wants to limit the tinkering that could have tired him in past seasons. His fastball plays well in the low-90s when his curveball and change-up are sharp. That’s been the key to his second act.

So against the Astros, he pounded the change-up — his signature pitch — and buried a handful in the dirt. Part of that, he later explained, was because his change-up comes around slower than his fastball and curve each spring. But another could have been the tricky elements.

“Honestly, it might be Florida. I feel like it’s hard to get a good feel for it when you’re working out in the field and the wind’s blowing, it seems like, 100 mph in one direction,” Strasburg said. “Like today, I was throwing into a straight crosswind and it’s like, yeah, it makes my change-up really nasty but at the same time, I don’t really feel confident about knowing where it’s going.”

The natural follow-up was to wonder if there’s an optimal state to throw his change-up in. He thought for a moment and leaned on a big sample.

“Um, I mean, D.C.’s not a state,” he responded with a laugh. “But it’s a pretty good place.”