I disagree with a "high effort ask" being a wasted effort if no-one's around.

Just because no-one's around now doesn't mean someone won't be around later. And writing down your thoughts can often be enough to crystalise your thinking to the point of having a new idea about a solution. So, you've either solved your problem for yourself, or you can share it with the person that does help in the end.

If you're asking for help it's useful to show where you're up to in your thinking and giving details on what you've tried already.