through the mill

"I've been through the mill to even get on the plane," says Knight.

It was a nice 6-1 - you can expect to come here and have a 6-4 or 6-5 and go through the mill a little bit, but none of that at all.

His tone was that of a man who had been through the mill.

“I hope the finding brings some comfort to them because they’ve all been through the mill and back,” she added.

Ferrari have put Charles Leclerc through the mill in the past few years - and at times vice versa, too, it has to be said - but the driver some in Formula 1 believe to be the fastest of all over one lap says his commitment to a future with the Italian team is absolute.