How long do sperm live when a woman isn’t fertile?

I was always curious about this, because I’ve read so many articles about how sperm can live for up to 5 days in egg white cervical mucus. However, so say if a woman has sex 1 to 3 after her period ends, but she doesn’t become fertile until 5 days after her period ends, can sperm live and wait until she becomes fertile & then stay a live until ovulation? Or does a woman have to have that type of cervical mucus present when the sperm is ejaculated, for the sperm to stay alive?