Obviously, this is true in the world of sports, where any perceived weakness can be the difference between a first-round pick contract and no contract, but it’s also true in many of the industries all of us work in. In tech, do you want to be perceived as someone who might not be able to produce at the same level as everyone else? In law, do you want to be seen as maybe not able to hack the billable-hour requirements? 

Whether either of those perceptions is true is not relevant; the risk of being seen that way exists. This risk makes asking for help less safe, which makes it more likely that someone won’t be able to do it.