INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Berry needs a quarterback like the rest of us need water. Can’t function without it, can only survive so long between sips.

Entering this week’s NFL Scouting combine, the Browns are three years into their latest drought. Sixty-five games have passed since the last time a Cleveland passer (2021 Baker Mayfield) logged three straight games with a passer rating better than 90. Low bar to clear, even lower bottom to touch.

Luckily, Berry remembers a mantra for moments like this. He recites it when asked for career advice, and he believes it fits Cleveland’s current moment.

The credo?

“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Berry told reporters Tuesday. “There are things that are going to make you uncomfortable every off season, especially when you’re in, in essence, a risk-taking position, a decision-making position. And that’s the reality of the beast. So at this point in my career, (not having a quarterback) is not something that really gives me anxiety.”

Glad he feels that way, because Berry’s Browns begin this offseason in the most uncomfortable position possible. Cleveland counts one healthy player — former fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson — at the league’s most important position. He’s never thrown for more than 170 yards.

They’re paying former starter Deshaun Watson $46 million ($72.9 million against the salary cap) to recover from a second torn Achilles injury in four months. And they own the second overall pick in a draft class considered lighter than usual on passing prospects.

Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders? Miami’s Cam Ward? Alabama’s Jalen Milroe?

Can any young quarterback save the stranded Browns?

Star edge rusher Myles Garrett said “I don’t think so” when he requested a trade from Cleveland three weeks ago. The 30-year-old lacks patience and, apparently, trust in his front office as he ages. Considering the airtime Garrett spent broadcasting his displeasure during Super Bowl week, I’d say he shares Berry’s appetite for unease.

But the general manager reiterated Monday that Cleveland will not entertain Garrett trade offers. He “can’t imagine” doing so, actually. Berry’s daydreams look more like Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who led Washington to the NFC title game one season after it drafted him second overall.

Don’t call it impossible. Washington general manager Adam Peters is living proof. This time last year, Peter crawled through a similar quarterback desert. Twelve years had passed since a Commanders quarterback made the Pro Bowl. His team had won four games one season prior.

Now? “It feels a lot better than last year,” Peters said Tuesday. Paired with a shrew batch of free agent signings, Daniels changed the franchise. Everything is possible just one year after hope seemed lost. And in moments like this, Peters remembers his own sharp saying.

When it comes to NFL quarterbacks, “I think you have one or you’re looking for one,” he said Tuesday. “I think that’s pretty established.”

Wherever Berry hangs his “comfortability” truism at the office, he should frame Peters’ quote next to it. And while we’re at it, let’s post sticky notes on the monitor with quarterback names written on them. Call them affirmations, then call them into the building.

Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart? Louisville’s Tyler Shough? Texas’s Quinn Ewers? Interview them all.

Ohio State’s Will Howard? Syracuse’s Kyle McCord? Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel? Watch every throw.

Leave no grain of sand unsearched in this crawl through the quarterback desert, even if you don’t draft one. Because if — Garrett-sized if — Cleveland finds a franchise quarterback in the first round, all its other problems become solvable.

Cap restrictions? Meet rookie contract. Disgruntled veterans? Enjoy this burst of energy. Every team will tell you they study quarterbacks every year. But listen to how happy Chargers general manager (and Justin Herbert enjoyer) Joe Hortiz sounds knowing he doesn’t need to draft one.

“It’s awesome. It’s awesome. It’s awesome,” Hortiz said. “I’ve been afforded that opportunity many years over my career. But there’s been some years where we didn’t have (a quarterback) and it’s a little stressful.”

A little? Hortiz must’ve forgotten. Since 2000, 74 different quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round. Only 31 have made a Pro Bowl playing for the team that drafted them, and only 18 made multiple.

Among top five picks, 22 of 36 quarterbacks made a Pro Bowl with the team who drafted them. Much better, but only 11 of those 22 made multiple Pro Bowls.

Doing the math? Drafting a quarterback from Cleveland’s position gives you a 30.6% chance of finding a player who delivers return on investment. The Browns are dying of thirst, and if they’re looking for water this week in Indianapolis, they’ll need a winning lottery ticket.

All Cleveland needs is a quarterback? Could be true. But finding one sounds harder — sorry, more uncomfortable — than Browns fans want it to be.

And by the way: Finding one is just the beginning.

“It’s hard because quarterback is the most impactful position, but it’s also one of the most interconnected positions in the sport,” Berry said. “You talk about decision making. It’s a position where you’re going to make 50 to 60 decisions a game and probably have a ball in your hand for 45 or 40, but at the same time all 10 people around you have to be able to do their jobs.

“And I would say this: (It is) 10 people on the field, but it’s also the people on the sideline in terms of how you’re building the offense and the scheme around the individual. So there’s just are a number of, I don’t want to use the word complicating factors, but maybe interdependent factors that go into it. So the evaluation process is important, but so is the integration and developmental process as well.”