Asking feels exposing at first, mostly because of a belief that needing help says something about you. It is a technique rather than a character test, and like any technique it gets better with repetition. The awkwardness fades a long time before the usefulness does.

Practice on something low-stakes this week and ask specifically rather than vaguely, since a clear request is much easier to answer. Name what you need and roughly how long it would take. Most people say yes, and the ones who cannot will say so without it costing you anything.