The centre rose prominence with 10 tries in his first 13 starts for Scotland over 18 months after being discovered playing for Western Province in South Africa.
However a series of injuries and a loss of form and favour at Glasgow stalled that progress during the 2018-19 season.
The 25-year-old probably has enough credit in the bank to make him Gregor Townsend's first choice outside centre but Jones knows he's now got a battle on his hands with the midfield one of the most competitive areas of the Scotland squad preparing for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Talking to the press from the Scotland training camp, Jones said: "Last season was pretty frustrating. I was in-and-out with Glasgow, and I had a couple of injuries. I went into the Six Nations thinking it was going to be a good chance to get a few games under my belt, then did my knee in the second game and I didn't really play very much after that.
"My career shot up from nothing really quickly and it was all going really well, and then a few injuries and having a bit of a tough time with Glasgow brought me back down to earth.
"I think the experience has made me better as a player. It has been frustrating, but I've improved as a result. I've chatted to a few guys who have been through the same - Hoggy (Stuart Hogg) says that he's missed on selection a few times for Glasgow when he was younger, and Peter Horne has been through it all, so it is good to get advice from them.
"I've missed a lot of rugby and a lot of opportunities, so I think this will be an important year. Fingers crossed, the World Cup is the priority at the moment but after that I would really like to kick on with Glasgow, really give it my best because my two seasons so far I've not really done much.
"From what (Dave Rennie) said to me, he does rate me, which is always nice to hear, but you'd obviously like to be picked.
"I suppose it is always tough to pick someone when they are coming back from injury or back from Scotland camp, when the guys who have been playing in that position have been going really well. I understand it is part of the process and one of my aims this season as long as I can stay fit is to become undroppable.
"That's my aim as a player, that's what I'd like to achieve."