The point that I think they've missed is the relative confidence of the squads at lockdown.
I'm sure most here will have played a team sport, if not rugby, and know the feeling when you're doing well. Confidence goes up, you get more vocal with each other, you're able to pass off mistakes and give encouragement to those who made them, no mater how stupid they were, and you just know that if they score you'll score 2 and rush back for the restart. Making noise is quite natural in these circumstances, its as much to do with that exhilaration you get as a wining team when its going well as anything else.
Conversely, when you've been losing you fall in to despondency, where you think nothing will go right and the whole world's against you. You start bickering at the slightest slip by team mates, lose energy and trudge back when the ops have scored. Its really hard to get "up for it" and make noise in these circumstance.
That was the state of the 2 teams going in to the long break and its been carried through. Its hard to know what Saints' (and teams in similar positions) coaches can do, especially when they couldn't get the squads together for a long time. Lee just had to keep reminding them they're winners and ensure complacency didn't set in, unlikely when a team is on a roll after having had a difficult time.
Incidentally, I think that winning team mentality is why promoted clubs generally do well for the first few weeks and it takes a few losses before despondency and the losing mentality sets in cf Irish, whereas Bristol managed to win a few games and keep that confidence. A better squad helped.