How do I re-compile python?

I am attempting to install pip on RHEL.

When I run:

[root@somewhere ~]# python get-pip.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "get-pip.py", line 20204, in <module>
    main()
  File "get-pip.py", line 152, in main
    bootstrap(tmpdir=tmpdir)
  File "get-pip.py", line 82, in bootstrap
    import pip
  File "/tmp/tmpydnX0u/pip.zip/pip/__init__.py", line 15, in <module>

  File "/tmp/tmpydnX0u/pip.zip/pip/vcs/mercurial.py", line 11, in <module>
  File "/tmp/tmpydnX0u/pip.zip/pip/download.py", line 30, in <module>
  File "/tmp/tmpydnX0u/pip.zip/pip/_vendor/__init__.py", line 81, in load_module

ImportError: No module named 'pip._vendor.requests'

It seems this error was caused by OpenSSL not being installed when python was installed. I have now installed OpenSSL, and want to re-compile python so that PIP will work.

It seems I'm supposed to go:

./configure
make
make install

from the python source folder, which in my case I think is /usr/local/lib/python2.7 (?) (It's certainly full of lots of *.py files)

However, I don't have a ./configure file in this folder (and can't find one anywhere else.)

How can I tell if I have what I need to do the re-compile?