With just eight months left in office and the lowest approval rating of any governor in the country, New Jersey’s own Chris Christie seems to be frantically trying to turn the car around before it careens over a guard rail. With the fate of his legacy, and whatever it is Christie has in mind for his post-gubernatorial life, in the balance, he'd better move quick.

Christie has suffered one political wreck after another over the past year. There was a failed presidential bid followed by a failed attempt to cozy up to Donald Trump once Trump won the Republican Party nomination. He was passed over as a vice-presidential pick and later ousted from his post as head of Trump’s transition team days after the election. He had slogged through weeks of brutal testimony during the Bridgegate trial, which led to the conviction of two of his allies on counts of corruption. (Both were recently sentenced to more than a year in prison.) The state’s credit rating has continued to plummet, and last week, a Morning Consult poll found that he was the most unpopular governor in the United States, with 71 percent of New Jersey voters disapproving of Christie and only 25 percent approving.

With the clock running out on a once-promising political career, Christie has clutched the wheel and put his foot on the gas. In recent weeks, Christie has returned to the spotlight after avoiding New Jersey media for nearly 150 days, returning to form in a series of typically acerbic press conferences, of the sort that originally put him on the map as a rising star in the Republican Party. He challenged the state’s largest insurer to help pay for the anti-opioid addiction efforts he spent the entirety of his State of the State speech touting. He reignited a fight with local labor unions; vowed to change the state pension system and how it funds schools; and blasted United Airlines and New Jersey transit for their treatment of passengers.

In a new report from Politico on Monday, Christie’s friends go into overdrive pointing out how great he is feeling.

“I think he feels very good,” his longtime political strategist Mike DuHaime told Politico. “He’s always enjoyed being out there, being active."

The report made pains to point out just how valued he is by President Trump, who earlier this month named him head of a new anti-addiction effort. According to Politico, he talks to the president several times a week, and spent “much of two days in the Oval Office advising Trump.” One source explained that he will often call Christie at night, and drop in a “Chris says” to other aides in conversations.

This has the look of a coordinated effort to show how appreciated he is by the White House, but this may be a fundamental miscalculation. Trump’s own approval ratings have been languishing at historic lows, even during what should be his honeymoon period, so Christie will hardly be buoyed by his connection to the president. In his opioid gig with the administration, Christie reports to Jared Kushner and his office of American Innovation. During the campaign, Kushner, Trump’s 36-year-old son-in-law and senior adviser, objected to Christie’s presence, and reportedly raised enough concern about the governor that he was ousted from his transition-team post and replaced by Vice President Mike Pence. (As U.S. attorney, Christie prosecuted Kushner’s father and put him behind bars in an Alabama federal prison. Late last year, sources told me that the Kushner family had expected Charles Kushner to return home 28 days early, but Christie made sure he didn’t get that early release.) A source told me earlier this month that the two buried the hatchet months ago, deciding that their work in the White House was more important than whatever bad blood remained, but that does not change the fact that he is now reporting to a man 28 years his junior who has twice pushed him out of Trump’s orbit.

Conditions, then, aren’t ideal. But this car’s wheels are moving forward. One person close to the governor told Politico that Christie is planning to “go make some money” when he leaves office. In the meantime, as he seeks to keep his political options open, turning into the skid just might be the only choice left.