There's definitely an ideal setup that's needed in order for it to work. I'm also not quite sure what part of the other person being present causes me to focus

There's definitely an ideal setup that's needed in order for it to work. I'm also not quite sure what part of the other person being present causes me to focus better (i.e., whether it's the presence vs good ideas and feedback). I'm leaning toward saying that the main issue for me is that I need to keep my focus on things that are active engagement rather than more passive engagement like taking notes versus just reading a passage.