Effort that fails looks like not enough effort

Someone messaged me at 2am with an exam in the morning. They'd tried music, rewards, screens off, forcing themselves through the notes. Twenty minutes to get through 1 or 2 sentences, still fails.

Then: "...it still feels like I can fix this with motivation, right technique, enough discipline. I just haven't pushed myself enough."

When nobody else can see the limit, the only evidence is effort. So effort that fails looks like not enough effort.