The Glasgow Warriors winger has endured more than his fair share of setbacks, from losing his Scotland Sevens contract during the Covid-19 pandemic and working nightshifts in an Amazon warehouse, to rebuilding his career at London Irish and earning a Scotland debut, only for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to halt his progress once again.
It was at that point, with Rowe unemployed for the second time by the age of 25, that Glasgow offered him a lifeline in the summer of 2023.
Reflecting on that uncertain period, Rowe remains grateful for the opportunity he has been given.
"It was obviously a tough time for me mentally, not knowing whether it was professional rugby was going to happen.
"I'm very grateful every week to be able to do this. A lot of people dream of being able to play for Edinburgh or Glasgow and I'm one of the lucky ones that's able to do it every week."
That perspective has stayed with him throughout his time at Scotstoun.
Rowe made 17 appearances during his debut campaign with the Warriors, but another disappointment soon followed. Despite starting three of Glasgow's final four regular-season matches, he was left out of the play-off squad and watched from the sidelines as the Warriors secured a URC title.
"Of course I was frustrated," Rowe told Scotland Rugby News.
Rather than dwell on the decision, Rowe was quick to acknowledge the competition for places and the areas where he felt he could have done more.
"I can understand why I wasn't in the team. It was my first year being here, maybe hadn't performed as well as I could have, it was my first year after my ACL injury and you had guys like Steyno [Kyle Steyn], Seb [Cancelliere] and Josh [McKay] who had been here for a couple of years more than I had.
"But that doesn't make it any less disappointing."
Although he missed out on the final stages of the campaign, Rowe is keen to stress that he still played an important role in Glasgow's title-winning season.
Now, with another URC play-off run underway, the experience has only increased his appreciation for opportunities on the biggest stage.
"I'm very grateful for what I'm able to do with the journey that I've been on, whether I was playing or not last week and this week, I'm just very grateful for the position that I'm in," he added.
This season, Rowe has made 16 appearances in all competitions and featured in Glasgow's round-five URC victory over Saturday's opponents, the Bulls, at Scotstoun.
The winger was heavily involved defensively in last week's quarter-final win over Connacht, even if attacking opportunities were limited as fellow wing Kyle Steyn stole the headlines.
"I still felt I played well," Rowe said.
"I didn't get as many touches as I wanted but that's just the way the game goes sometimes and hopefully it's different this weekend."
Rowe's consistency has been rewarded this season. A late try against Ulster secured top spot in the URC standings for Glasgow, while his performances also earned him a place in the league's Team of the Season.
Yet he knows competition within the Warriors squad remains fierce.
Jamie Dobie, selected by Scotland on the wing during the Six Nations, is expected to be available again, while British & Irish Lion Huw Jones has returned to training.
"You've got to perform every weekend," Rowe added.
"Franco has got full trust in everybody in the squad that they'll go out and do a job and with some boys coming back from injury, it just again drives the training standards and it makes you want to get better."
Given what happened a year ago, being left out at this stage would be another cruel setback. But sentiment counts for little in knockout rugby, and Rowe has earned his place on merit heading into one of Glasgow's biggest matches of the season.
The Bulls arrive in Glasgow with a squad packed with international quality. Handre Pollard's kicking game presents a significant aerial challenge, while Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie provide serious pace out wide.
"They've got a load of Springboks right across the park," Rowe said.
"We know it's going to be a tough ask, and we know the challenges that are coming because we've played them twice this year already."
Victory would send Glasgow back to Murrayfield for a second URC final in three seasons, where either Leinster or the Stormers would await.
But given the twists and turns of his career so far, Rowe is refusing to look beyond the immediate challenge.
"I'm just taking it day by day, week by week at the minute," he said.
"As long as we get the job done on Saturday, we can look forward to the final."