> this is one big hurdle in learning math backwards. You discover new missing pieces at every corner. Each missing piece leading to another missing piece.

Yes this is exactly what happening to me.

E.g. I got up to Week 2 of the course and suddenly made the big (to me) discovery that sqrt(a/b) = sqrt(a)/sqrt(b).

It seems trivial I know when you see it written like that, but the problem is to recognise and apply that principle in the context of a broader problem such as factoring.

> Just keep at it.

Thanks, this gives me confidence that I'm not wasting my time haha

I am beginning to get better at it, to the point that I can often work out why I got a question wrong on my own without referring to the answer.