Auditions are just rooms where you get to be seen for three minutes. Most people never ask for three minutes.

Rooms where someone has to look at you and decide are rare, and most people never ask to be in one. An audition feels like a verdict on your whole worth, though from the other side of the table it is a short window of attention that normally takes months to earn. A no from it costs you an afternoon.

Find the version of that room in your life: the tryout, the interview, the open call, the teacher with office hours. Ask for the slot. Prepare one thing properly instead of five things halfway.