Saint Nicodemus came seeking truth, and he found him, so Jesus, the one by whom grace and truth came from God. gave Nicodemus more truth, which he stumbled over (not unlike those disciples who stumbled over the real presence of His Body further along in the book). The Messiah told Nicodemus, and thereby us (thanks to his apostles and the one holy catholic apostolic church), that one must be born again (from above) to see the kingdom of God, and born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. I would say his state at that point was not saved yet. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
John, Catholic chapter three, Protestant verse two,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James
bold emphasis mine
I fully agree, Nicodemus was not a born from above member in God’s family when he arrived to speak with Jesus and seek Truth. Was all the service and education and teaching of others and restricted behavior, not deviating from the ritual pathway, was all that of importance to get Nicodemus born from above?