Do you remember which survey? I’d love to see it!
I've just scrubbed back through - the podcast was https://syntax.fm/show/571/supper-club-rust-in-action-with-t..., which follows the pleasing practise of providing chapters (yay). It was Tim McNamara speaking from about 12'40": what he actually said was that about half of Rust learners who do drop out fall away because of the purported difficulty of the language. Very different from my faux summary so apologies for the grievous misrepresentation.
I still find Rust as hard to use as others I've spoken to do though. I'm kind of keeping at it for reasons specific to projects I have in mind, as well as a certain dense stubbornness.
Is there anything there someone like me (ie. having difficulty with Rust) might usefully contribute to? I'm a little overwhelmed right now trying to keep a roof over my head, but am compiling a list of things I might like to help with when the current storm has passed.
Personally I think contributions work best when you're trying to solve a pain that you personally have or at least have some sort of connection to, so I'd encourage you to consider what/how/why you struggled to learn, and then try to fix that. I know it's vague, but it's the best I've got right now!