“Understanding something abstract or proving that something is true becomes a task a lot like building something. You think: ‘First I will lay this foundation, then I will build this framework using these familiar pieces, but leave the walls to fill in later, then I will test the beams…’ All these steps have mathematical analogues, and structuring things in a modular way allows you to spend several days thinking about something you do not understand without feeling lost or frustrated.”

— What is it like to have an understanding of very advanced mathematics? - Quora