Louise, Coach Smith here will take a crack at that answer by putting it in
the terms of sports.  Confidence (motivation) gets the players on the field.
Technique scores goals; poor technique doesn't and may also cause injury.
Without confidence, you have no opportunity to try the techniques in the
first place. If you're not on the field, you can't win. Motivation gives us a
chance to try and improve technique. Both are needed.

However, "the worst enemy of good technique is good luck" - sometimes we get
lucky and can't explain success in terms of good technique.  Success DESPITE
poor technique sometimes happens (thank goodness for many of us!).

Good technique is repeatable and stacks the decks in your favor. The more we
know about good technique and eliminating errors, the odds of success
increase. Since there are many determinants of all aspects of breastfeeding,
the more parts that are "right," the better the chances of success.  Some
mom-baby pairs need all 385 parts (pick a number) to have success; others
only need 6 things right and it works. But, we don't know in advance how many
right elements will be needed for an individual mom-baby pair, so we try to
get everything right for everyone and do the best we can for when a situation
isn't optimum.

Linda Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Private practice, Dayton OH