Growth underground can precede anything impressive above it.

Some plants spend years building roots before they put up anything worth looking at. From above, nothing is happening. Underneath, the entire capacity for what comes later is being assembled, and rushing the visible part would guarantee it could not be sustained.

If you are in a long invisible stretch, ask honestly whether you are building or stalling. The two feel similar from inside. Building has a direction and stalling does not, and you usually know which one you are doing if you ask plainly.