I agree with folks that the best way to become a better diver is to…dive with better divers. This can be through paid coursework/compensated one-on-one time with an instructor.
It can also be through informal mentorship. I’m a psych prof; seeing what other skilled people are doing and imitating them is how humans learn complex skills. It’s also why apprenticeship-style learning is historically so common in trades, etc. Even medical students learning surgery etc “see one-assist one-do one.”
You can do it on your own - but it’s much slower. Back when I started, I didn’t really have any mentors in my early open water diving, and I made good but slow and painful progress for the first 100 dives. On the other hand, I’ve been very fortunate to have wonderful cave mentors, and most of my real learning has come from diving with them week in and week out, not the formal coursework I did.
Try and meet other divers diving at the level you want to be diving. My regular buddies and I make it a point to take new enthusiastic divers under our wing, especially if they demonstrate a willingness to learn and improve. I’m not GUE, but I’ve spent a lot of time in spring basins with newer divers working on their skills for their fundies pass. I don’t mind, and I suspect you’ll go farther faster and have more fun if you make some like-minded dive buddies, both at your level and above.
