Skills compound quietly. Year one looks like nothing. Year three looks like talent.

Growth that compounds is nearly invisible early and undeniable later, which is a hard order to live through. The first stretch produces almost nothing you can show anybody, so it feels like proof that you were not built for this. What gets called talent later on is usually somebody who stayed through the unimpressive part.

Keep one dated piece of evidence a month: a recording, a photo, a saved attempt, a time. Do not look at it weekly. Compare this month against six months ago and let that, rather than today’s practice, decide whether you are getting better.