Before I went tubeless, I would carry two good tubes with me and swap them out if I got a flat for a fast fix, then patch the punctured tubes when I got home and test them before putting them back in the rotation. I only patched on the road if I got a third flat (rare, but it did happen). Tubes would get retired and replaced with a new one when they sprung a leak where a patch was, leaked too close to the valve, or I just decided they had too many patches.
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It's like riding a bicycle