Trusting the process is the real hurdle, like jadej50 said. You have to unlearn that panic instinct to push harder when things get tough. My brain kept screaming that more force equals faster results, even when the clean holes proved it wrong. It took a solid week of consciously holding back before the new lighter touch started to feel normal.

My neighbor in Lubbock had a similar issue with his old farm gate. He used a length of chain and a couple of heavy-duty hooks to pull it back into square. It wasn't pretty, but it held for years and only cost him about ten bucks at the hardware store.

Oh man, my freehand cuts are so bad they look like a toddler with the shakes did them. I tried to cut a simple straight line for a shelf last week and ended up with something that belongs in a funhouse. My spacer might be slow, but at least it keeps my projects from looking like modern art.

Tell that to my coax, @anna_martin... it's already listening.

Wait, you had a chess coach? That's wild to me. Most people I know just learned from their grandpa or an app. Was it for a school team or something more serious?