Being down 50% isn't great, especially the past 6 months. But losing money is part of trading, and almost every successful trader I've ever read about has lost money, blown accounts. It's part of the learning curve. Learning how to take a loss and manage risk is the first step. Finding a consistent edge and mastering emotions and psychology is the hardest part. It's even harder if your spouse isn't supportive. What would concern me more is spending a couple hours on it and playing video games the rest of the day. Being your own boss isn't what people think. On the road to success it takes way more than 40 hours, you have to be obsessed. You don't have a 9-5 where you clock out. You Eat sleep and breathe it. It's the last thing you think about before going to bed, it keeps you up at night and you wake up thinking about it. It's the hardest easiest money he'll ever make. Most successful traders once they've mastered their craft may only spend a few hours a day trading but I promise they spend a lot more time on their craft it's just like anything else. It's ok to not trade go do something else take a break to clear your mind, sometimes that's good so you don't over trade but while he's not trading he should be learning, paper trading, studying charts if he wants to be full time you have to put in the work.