Alright, before anyone jumps on me, let me preface by saying I am very tough on myself and have high standards.
Don't worry Greg, you could never possibly be as hard on yourself as some of us here can be on you.
In 2015 I logged 15 hours in a Cherokee and was getting ready to solo. Things seemed to click and I was really picking up the skills.
So keep this in context... 5 years ago you had 15 TOTAL HOURS of flight time. At that stage of the game, that is not enough to have engrained much of anything in you. You have no real foundation to fall back on. Now if you'd said, 5 years ago I stopped flying and I had 5000 hours... now you would have a solid foundation to resume flying 5 years later... make sense?
Fast forward to today and I’m resuming my flight training in a 172, have about 10 hours and am struggling to maintain basic landing skills. In flight maneuvers are all good but my landings suck. I just can’t visualize the approach, know when to transition, and struggle to maintain directional control. Ugh! I’m discouraged and afraid that I’m going to blow my budget for flight training!
Again, keeping things in perspective, in terms of how far along you should be today, forget about your 15 hours 5 years ago. In other words, you've just started flying, and you have 10 hours. And landings typically are one of the hardest things for any student to master.
It doesn't help that you're adding additional stress on yourself by the way you're viewing flight lessons -vs- budget. We all get that flying is expensive, especially for a hobby, but placing your priority on the budget, vs the outcome, would be extremely difficult for just about anyone. Keep in mind, you might want to reconsider your budget, and increase it. Remember, you stopped 5 years ago with only 15 hours. You pretty much (not completely) but pretty much waisted that money. Now you're starting over.
Also, don't be afraid of flying with a different instructor. If you've met an instructor who you really admire, and think could help you, jump on that opportunity. Yes, sometimes changing instructors can cost you a little more money, but sometimes it can save you a lot too.
An example is I once met someone who had close to 100 hours of flight time, and still a student pilot. They had half a dozen requirements that had not even been completed yet. Their instructor was holding them back. I reviewed the log book and determined what we needed to do and completed all remaining requirements, and in about two weeks they had everything done, took their check ride and passed. The point of this is not to say this is your case, but rather if you feel that you've hit a plateau with your instructor, don't hesitate to seek out one with more experience who might be able to help you through a difficult phase.
As for your landings... cross winds are great.. however it kind of sounds like maybe you're not ready for them just yet. You do need to have acceptable landings down, prior to throwing in crosswinds.
Remember; Pitch for Airspeed, Trim, Power for Altitude
1. On final, pitch for the airspeed you want and trim for hands off as much as possible.
2. Aim for the threshold... using slight gentle changes in throttle to maintain that glide scope.
3. Over or near the threshold, start a gentle flair and reduce power ---
4. Hold if off.. try to just fly inches above the runway for as long as you can.. very small inputs on the yoke. The slower you go, the larger the inputs will have to become to hold it off.. a perfect landing happens immediately after the stall horn sounds.
5. Keep the yoke back until the aircraft has slowed to taxi speed. After that you may or may not want to continue holding it back depending on what the winds are doing.
I know it's tough and it can be stressful, especially if you have placed monetary restraints on yourself, but try to look at the big picture. You're training to become a pilot, and there are difficult phases you'll have to work through, but the pay off in the end is well worth it.
Best of luck.
