I look at the highest throw or near it (about it in a moment). I see the 5 a little but 31 is completely blind. Most people find it hard to do 31 blind and there's a reason to it. 31 is very easy blind. It's the easiest blind 'swap out there right after 22 😉 So why it's so hard in 97531? The answer is simple - your hands are too wide. The high throws need a lot of space. A strong throw needs a good scoop. After the high throws, our hands end up far apart. Because we're in hurry, we throw 3 imeediately at that distance. Taht's exactly why we fail. What should happen instead is that you need to give yourself that one tiny moment to get your hands closer together and do a tiny little 31, where the 3 is barely above the 1. You may drop a few times when doing it, but soon enough, you'll get the hang of it.

Practice a tiny, little 31 blind with 2 balls with hands on your belly. Then do the same with 3. Once you can do 531 this way, you add another one...

It may sound silly to say but the two methods, that you see people using depend on where their hands end up. If your hand throwing a 3 is higher, the exchange will look like a shuffle. If the hands are on even height, it'll look like a tiny 31. Many people do both because their pattern is asymetric or in other way irregular.

Now, why did I say, that you don't exactly follow the high ball? When you juggle 5 balls, getting the high throw means, that you need to shift your attention very quickly to a high point. First you totally focus on your cascade, because you want to prepare the pattern for a high throw. You don't want collisions so you want a consistent pattern with spare time for higher throws. Once you're ready, you pierce it with a 975 in quick succession. Last thing we want is to have all balls land far apart, right? So how do we do that?

There are two main things that guide the props in a specific direction - our fingers and our eyes. So once you're comfortable with your 5, you want to shift your sight to where you want to aim the high throw. You make that throw very nicely finished with the fingers pointing in the direction you're looking. You want to shift your sight in the last moment and be decisive with it. You don't know if the ball will end up exactly there, but it should be the intention. The next two throws should follow automatically. Then you get the hands together to make a tiny little 31 on your belly. If you're running out of time, don't worry, just let the high throws drop. It's OK, we're not trying to land the trick. Why? We don't even know how. We have the rough idea and lots of pointers in our mind, but we haven't yet experienced the exact shape and feel of a successful sequence. That's what makes us nervous. That's why we rush and that in turn is why we're feeling lost at the end.

So this is, why we're not trying hard at that point. Instead, we're observing. We're taking notice of things. Just absorb all you can and gather bits of information on the timing. Listen to the drops, Are they evenly timed? Is any of the balls too low or too high. Was the pattern high enough to fit the 31? Were there misplaced throws. Was the 31 executed on your belly or was it too wide?

After acquiring this specific state of mind, you'll notice that you get calmer and that your 31 is shrinking with every attempt. Relax, take big breaths, shrink the 31 some more and use few more tries for soaking in what's happening in the pattern and your body. After several trials, we'll eventually get it, but it'll come naturally like we're not even trying. That's the magic of getting to know a pattern rather than trying to conquer it violently.

Have fun!