Konstas is with the Australia A side in India ahead of two four-day games in Lucknow, the first of which starts on Tuesday.
Runs in India won't be as critical as big scores in the early Sheffield Shield rounds for Konstas when it comes to Ashes selection but they also won't hurt his chances of partnering 38-year-old Khawaja in the opening Test in Perth.
Konstas averaged just 8.33 on a tough three-Test tour of the West Indies but he wasn't Robinson Crusoe on what was a difficult assignment for all batters.
Khawaja has ridden the highs and lows of Test cricket and found his own path and ultimate reinvention after the troughs, so when asked what advice he would have for Konstas to get in the Ashes side he spoke from experience.
"You have to learn for yourself. You learn way more from your failures than you do from your successes," Khawaja told AAP.
"For Sammy he has got a long journey ahead. He is so young. At 19 I was learning my trade in first grade (club cricket). He is learning it in Test cricket.
"It's a different ball game and I think people need to be understanding of that. Will he be a future world class Test cricketer? I really hope so, but there are no guarantees in sport."
Khawaja understands Test cricket is played as much between the ears as it is on the pitch, a message he has reinforced to Konstas.
"I speak to Sammy and we spent a lot of time together in the Windies where we talked a lot about cricket and life. I think cricket and life go hand-in-hand but it is a learning curve," he said.
"With batting, it is so much a mental game so I try and tell Sammy and all the youngsters, 'don't negate how mentally important the game is'.
"Yes, you will work on the physical stuff and technique but you have to understand the mental side of this game if you want to be successful."
Konstas told AAP he had leant on Steve Smith and Khawaja a lot in the formative stages of his career and two other key men in the background.
"I am always getting advice from Usman. I've always liked how relaxed and grounded his approach is," he said.
"I've got my batting coach Tahmid Islam and my mentor Shane Watson. They are well connected with (Australia coach) Andrew McDonald and our batting coach so they all share ideas.
"With (Watson) it is more the mental side to be honest and not getting too fixated about other opinions so I can be mentally fresh during games.
"Tahmid has known me since I was 13 and he understands my game. I have always had that close relationship with him. I don't see him as a coach. I see him more as family.
"Of course to have guys like Usman and Steve Smith in the team, legends of the game, I am grateful. I'm just trying to learn from them. Hopefully I get another opportunity and grab it with both hands and cement my place in the team."
