More Game Improvement

Is it possible to really "get better" at golf without actually playing it? I ask this question somewhat rhetorically for myself and other snowbound golfers who live in northern climes and can't play for roughly 1/3 of the calendar year. I feel as though hope springs eternal in these wintry months since we can't play--therefore we can't be reminded of the shortcomings of our games. Lack distance of the tee? Well you wouldn't know it in January in Minnesota because there isn't a place you can easily go to that will remind yourself of that fact. Need to improve your touch around the greens? Well, we got no greens right now so you might as well just think you're pretty deft at chipping and pitching until the snow melts and you're reminded that you aren't. Let's say you're more realistic about the whole "state of the game" thing though and you vow to truly improve during the downtime that the weather has forced upon you. Can you really improve? I'd like to think you can but I'm beginning to think its a lot harder than anyone would care to realize. Assuming you have a life full of other responsibilities (spouse, children, job, etc.) and can't just plant yourself in the weight room and on a jogging track and then in a hitting stall somewhere with a video monitor watching your every move, I believe the best you can do is stay optimistic about your coming season and try to keep yourself in decent-enough shape that at the very least you don't regress to the point of nearly "starting over" every spring. Enjoy the fact that golf is coming down the pipe in a few months and be ready to hit the course running when the snow melts and the greenskeeper starts cutting the holes again. I guess that's my two-cents worth, anyways.