> This little corner of my life feels a lot more under my control than anything else right now

Yes that's exactly it! It's something of a refuge from whatever other chaos I'm dealing with. I get to feel good about trying and even better about succeeding.

The body is incredibly resilient, and given enough stimulus and patient consistency, it's pretty amazing how strong average people are capable of becoming.

I'm reminded of this quote from Socrates:

"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeking the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."

I am not young anymore, but I'm not old, either, and I've come to the conclusion it's certainly better to start late than to never discover my limits at all.

I really empathize and am glad you pointed this out. I needed specific exercises to fix my abductor/flat left foot, which were wrecking my hip.

Body progress is slow, but it feels wonderful to have something you can control, master, and is directly rewarding.

Kudos for sticking with it :) Good luck and keep building protections around that knee.