I have a TRS-80 emulator that I've been playing with and a huge swath of old programming books and magazines that I downloaded from computer magazine archive that contains a lot of BASIC program listings ... I'm wondering if this will be a good way to learn to code? I would appreciate any insight into this.

For what it's worth; I have dabbled a little bit in Python, JavaScript, and Lua (Working through Invent with Python and Eloquent JavaScript in there entireties) and programming just hasn't "clicked" for me yet. I really want to learn to code but I wonder if maybe I just don’t have the mind for it because I’ve worked through two books and I still can’t do anything unless I follow a tutorial.

I day dream about building emulators and programming cool things (to me at least) like a simulation game of the security company I work for, or an android application that works as a sort of "pokedex" for plants an animals ... Cool stuff like that. But I don't know how I'll ever do anything like that if I don't know how to build a program from the top of my head https://19216801.onl/ https://routerlogin.uno/ .

Near the start of Invent with Python the tutorial showed me how to make a tick tack to game ... I completed it, but by the end of the book when I had coded more advanced things I still didn't have the concepts in my head needed o build that fiat simple program.

Then I see these amazing programs on github and forums and such built by a single person and I just can't help but think maybe I really just don't have the head for this.

Trying to learn to program makes me feel unmotivated and stupid ... But then I came across the TRS-80 emulator Sharp 80 while goofing off on the internet and learned about all the games written in BASIC that a lot of now "old school" programmers learned to program from as kids by typing up those listings from a magazine and thought maybe that would be a good idea ... But then again, maybe not. Those programmers were mostly inquisitive children when they learned through those listings ... I'm a particularly average 25 year old man with the mind of a stubborn old man.

Maybe it's too late for me to learn to code.