We explore the limitations of using imbalance dynamics as a diagnostic tool for many-body localization (MBL) and show that spatial averaging can mask important microscopic features. Focusing on the strongly disordered regime of the random-field XXZ chain, we use state-of-the-art numerical techniques (Krylov time evolution and full diagonalization) to demonstrate that site-resolved spin autocorrelators reveal a rich and complex dynamical behavior that is obscured by the imbalance observable. By analyzing the time evolution and infinite-time limits of these local probes, we reveal resonant structures and rare local instabilities within the MBL phase. These numerical findings are supported by an analytical, few-site toy model that captures the emergence of a multiple-peak structure in local magnetization histograms, which is a hallmark of local resonances. These few-body local effects provide a more detailed understanding of ergodicity-breaking dynamics, and also allow us to explain the finite-size effects on the long-time imbalance, and its sensitivity to initial conditions in quench protocols. Overall, our experimentally testable predictions highlight the necessity of a refined, site-resolved approach to fully understand the complexities of MBL and its connection to rare-region effects.

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• Eigenstate thermalization
• Many-body localization
• Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics
• Quantum quench
• Quantum statistical mechanics