Basic training is a shock at first. Then one either acclimates to it or drops out, but eventually it becomes routine. The shock period is where most of the spirit-crafting happens. I spent quite a lot of time in my head pondering questions like "Why the fuck did I sign up for this?" I had to earnestly come up with an answer to it every day. Eventually, I was scraping the bottom of the barrel for motivation. I realized that having doubts about motivation and the end-goal is not, in itself, a reason to stop or try less hard. This had the effect of making me more focused on the task at hand instead of my own uncertainties.

The atmosphere is created by making very simple things seem very unpleasant and making quitting seem very easy. Basic training only covers very simple things: mainly marching, shooting, and keeping things neat and clean. Learning these things is made to be far more stressful than it has to be. All the while quitting seems like a totally achievable option. (It's not.) This forces one to evaluate their motivations.