That point is very early. Math finally really took off for me when I realized that, no, it's not enough to understand an equation, or a set of requirements, etc., when I'm introduced to it. I have to actually memorize it. Literally with a flashcard app that I open every day.

By rote memorization, it is available in my head immediately, and I can use it to reason through things, without having to derive anything. It helps tremendously.

Then, at some point, it will become so familiar and understood through working with it, that the rote memorization becomes superfluous. For example, I've worked with the Laplace Transforms and the various Fourier Transforms (FS, FT, DFT, DTFT) so intensely by now, that I can absolutely just recite them by concept and understanding of why they are what they are.

But until then, rote memorization is basically a necessary tool to work with math.

The moment that made me realize that was when I saw a math genius at university, one who clearly understood the topics extremely well, going through his flashcards.