There was an interesting report on NPR this morning about compassion.
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/20/450175865/do-we-have-less-sympathy-for-people-facing-things-weve-overcome
“So the key here is if you need sympathy, go to somebody else who’s clueless.”
The professor and TA have solved the kinds of problems your D is facing. They’ve observed many other students solve them. So their bias is to believe that with just a little more effort, she can do it, too.
“[They’re] at the top of the mountain now. It’s very hard to put [themselves] back at the bottom of the mountain and look up at that cliff.”