I was also a late bloomer when it came to flying.
I dug out the old logbook, dredging up a few R22 memories (or is it traumas?
).
I had 3.5 hours under the belt when we started hovering exercises, I remember it being a bit frustrating at the time, when you are a bit older you are determined to succeed and it just does not work that way..
Got it right after 2 hours, it was also a case of splitting sessions between circuits, mainly to break the cycle of getting stuck in your own head and trying to choke the cyclic to death.
Happy days.
I have seen some guys really struggle, especially if they aren't flying often enough, it makes it much harder to build the muscle memory and get the feel right.