By week six of practice, nobody remembers who looked gifted at tryouts. They remember who kept coming back.

Early talent gets attention because it is visible immediately, and attention is the only thing it reliably produces. What separates people a month in is attendance, which is unglamorous and almost entirely available to anyone. The ones who looked ordinary on day one and kept turning up have quietly done far more work by then. Tryouts measure a snapshot; a season measures a habit.

Stop tracking how you compare on any given day and start tracking whether you went. Mark the calendar. Six weeks of marks will tell you more about where you are heading than any single good session.