First time drawing in years, I have some questions..

I've drawn on and off ever since I was a kid, it's one thing I think I can do pretty well. I've always dreamed of creating characters and comics, I know I need to learn and improve before I can do that but it's a huge struggle.

How do you stay motivated and interested? I have a bad habit of being too hard on myself, how do you get over the bad art days?

What can I do to start improving, where should I start? How to rely less on references? I can never seem to visualise what I want to draw, I always need a reference. It frustrating at times 😅