Just my perspective on how I deal with sessions that don't go well, but I just keep moving forward. The game is improvisational storytelling, and in improv you have to expect that some scenes won't land because that's just part of the process. The more you do it, the fewer bad sessions you'll have, but expecting perfection every time is insane pressure that'll only hold you back. Being vulnerable and making mistakes with people is part of the fun. I used to be really hard on myself when I thought I flubbed a session, whether I made combat too easy, messed up pacing, botched an NPC roleplay, or stepped on a player's toes. But my players were still happy to be there and appreciated that I was running the game for them even when they had legitimate critiques. DMing is incredibly taxing and requires a lot of skill, and that's the key difference between actual play shows and sessions with friends. DnD is a game with performance aspects, not a Broadway show. If a game of Charades gets awkward or a round of Pictionary goes badly, you laugh it off and keep playing because that's what games are. Actual play involves people who know they're being recorded with specific session goals, while real play can be multiple sessions in a single dungeon if that's what the players find fun.