You may have a bad teacher or you may be running into a reality that all creatives face when they try to take a hobby beyond that… at some point it does become work, and you have to learn how to manage that transition.
I’ve been a pro for 27 years. When I was a student, the gains came so damn quickly because I knew absolutely nothing. A year or two in your gains slow down very sharply and you have to work harder to make those incremental improvements. You can learn 75-80% of what you need to know to be a great photographer in a year. That last 20% is gonna be a bitch. If you want to take it beyond a hobby, you have to realize it won’t always be fun, and you will have to learn how to work at some point. If you can’t get past that jump it may not be for you. …. Or maybe you just have a bad teacher.