Rowe was released by Scottish Rugby in late 2020 as COVID-19 ravaged the game and ended up working in an Amazon warehouse to make ends meet.
Rowe was given a short-term deal by Edinburgh and played a single Rainbow Cup match before London Irish gave him a chance to play Premiership rugby. Rowe grabbed his opportunity, scoring ten tries in total and attracting the attention of Gregor Townsend who took him on the summer tour of Argentina.
Just when it looked like Rowe's luck was finally changing for the better he suffered a ruptured ACL on his Scotland debut and while recovering London Irish went into administration.
Rowe joined up with Glasgow during the summer and has settled in quickly scoring his fourth try of the season to help the Scotstoun side gain the upper hand over Edinburgh in the 1872 Cup.
"It was pretty special to score in the derby having been part of both Glasgow and Edinburgh," Rowe told BBC Scotland. "It was good to get on the score sheet and ultimately help the team win.
"I feel like I'm settled in [at Glasgow Warriors] now. It wasn't that hard a transition for me as obviously I’ve grown up with a load of these boys playing with them through the academy and Premiership before it was the Super Six. It was a pretty seamless transition for me coming back to Glasgow."
Looking ahead to the fixture at Edinburgh, Rowe says "no other games compare", but preparation will be the same as for any other game.
"It is a big game because obviously the 1872 Cup is on the line," Rowe admitted. "But we are just going about it as if it's any other week. Prepping as if it's an away game and trying to take the form we had last week and in the games we've had at Scotstoun that we've won and take it away from home.
"Glasgow and Edinburgh aren't far away so I think the travelling support for the Warriors is going to be amazing. I don't think it's going to feel like an away game, I feel like we are going to be able to feed off the Edinburgh fans if we're on top in any facet of the game.
"No other games really compare. With London Irish there's a few clubs around but nothing on the line really, no cups or anything. I think this weekend will be pretty special, especially in Murrayfield in front of 30,000. It's going to be pretty mad to be honest."