jcochrane wrote: Have others noticed how many pull/push steerers are not very smooth?
Yes. Me. When I first became an ADI I noticed.
I practiced in a car park for hours and hours until I could feel it becoming a well-rounded technique . I would do the same with my students, steering fig 8s, then slow/fast, and finally left/right, right/right/left "aiming" at parked cars/trees/posts/ drain covers, etc, hand prep, until their technique could not be "tripped up". Took about 30mins to an hour, but their confidence on the road afterwards was tangible. It also had the added benefit of encouraging them to look further.
In many cases I would query whether their "lack of smoothness" could be attributed to a lack of confidence in the technique, unfamiliarity with the technique, or questionable technique. I have seldom found it lacking and, when it does, that is where another technique is utilized.