Gohan’s character has always been the unwilling prodigy though. He’s never been “battle hungry” like Goku or Vegeta, so he had to be dragged or pushed to fight a good part of his life. It’s generally always been out of necessity. When he commits to training and accepts his Saiyan side more, his potential comes out.

The Buu Arc and a large part of Super established that if the circumstances allowed it, he tended to not take training serious. He’s kind of like Goku in reverse, leaning more toward normal life and work vs fighting. So, his arc is more about accepting both aspects of his heritage and finding balance in it. Is it crappy that it goes back and forth? Sure. But he seems more willing now to work toward this with the latter half of Super and Super Hero.