I think it is definitely the case with mathematics, you slowly gain knowledge and build up some chunks of skill when it comes practically to solving problems, at some point things click and everything you learned until that point intuitively makes sense as a whole.
I think these would be the three critical parts: knowledge, skill, intuition.
3Blue1Brown is great for building up intuition (and that's what he says very often).
As for me I feel like I always very much overlooked the overlap between knowledge/skill, which is very much apparent when I encounter a book in maths, actually a common way to study the discipline. I can read through, but can I read with comprehension? Not yet, I'm afraid.
Due to some stuff I'm reading right now (and my recent obsession with C C Hennix) I can relate to OP a little bit, trying to slowly catch up on category theory and topology recently, though I'm lucky to have a very kind friend to help me out and recommend good sources.
I think in the scope of this thread external support might prove fruitful, as searching for materials on a discipline you're not exactly familiar yourself does not sound optimal.
Perhaps we could recommend some readings to
@Clinamenic ? What's your field of interest? Where do you feel you lack the most?