A lubricant supported electric motor includes a stator presenting an outer raceway and a rotor extending along an axis and rotatably disposed within the stator. The rotor presents an inner raceway disposed in spaced relationship with said outer raceway to define at least one hydrostatic support chamber disposed therebetween. A lubricant is disposed in the hydrostatic support chamber for supporting the rotor within the stator. A monitoring port is disposed in fluid communication with the at least one hydrostatic support chamber, and a sensor is coupled with the monitoring port for monitoring an operating characteristic of the lubricant disposed in said at least one hydrostatic support chamber. This monitored operating characteristic is then used to determine a real-time operating condition of the lubricant supported electric motor.