From my layman understanding the initial viral load is a strong factor in how well you can respond to the infection. Immune response more or less happens in a c

From my layman understanding the initial viral load is a strong factor in how well you can respond to the infection. Immune response more or less happens in a constant time, while the unchecked virus spreads roughly exponentially. If your initial load was low, then by the time your immune system responds, the infection will be relatively little spread, but if your initial load was high, the virus will have spread much more, which can be challenging for the immune system to handle, event for healthier people.