Finding it Hard to Keep Up with My 5 Daily Prayers

Assalamu alaikum. I have strong faith in Allah, believe that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His messenger, and accept all the prophets. I understand that prayer is fard, and I’m familiar with many stories of the prophets, hadiths, and Islamic rulings. I don’t reject any part of the deen and I even observe hijab, but there’s one thing I really struggle with-so much that it sometimes brings me to tears. It’s maintaining my salah. I’ve heard from others, both in person and online, that consistent prayer is a sign of true iman. That makes me question my own belief sometimes, and it really hurts. For as long as I can remember, I haven’t been regular. I pray here and there, and I get strong bursts of motivation, especially during tough times when I turn to Allah for help. I remember Allah every day and think about Islam daily, but I still keep falling off track with my prayers. I think the biggest reasons are my current studies-I’m on a science track-and my schedule. I’m at school from 9 to 5, then I come home and study, and I also have to prepare for driving lessons and my volunteer work. Stress from other parts of my life affects me a lot too. Because I miss so many prayers on weekdays (Dhuhr, Asr, and sometimes even Maghrib in winter), I lose all motivation to make them up. I know how to pray perfectly. I understand what I’m saying, and I even recite slowly. I feel peaceful when I pray, but I just don’t know what’s going wrong. I’ve read lots of advice about starting small. I feel guilty thinking about it, but would you suggest I try praying all five salah on weekends when I don’t miss any, and then slowly build up during the week until I’m doing all five every day? I’ve tried just pushing through before, and I usually last about a week before something happens-a bad day, being too busy-and then I miss prayers, can’t find the motivation to make them up, and end up quitting. Honestly, I feel awful. Allah was so merciful to reduce our prayers to five, and I can’t even manage that. Is there anyone who struggled really badly but eventually got back to praying five times a day consistently? I feel terrible thinking that maybe all my fasts this Ramadan weren’t accepted because of this.