If time permits I just listen. I refrain from any audio changes as long as humanly possible. If it’s a week all the better. I’ll listen endlessly if possible, no changes. The problems (and answers) then become progressively easier to identify and fix.
It’s impossible at this point to tell how many things I’ve pitched over the years I just didn’t give enough time to emerge and might have been really good. Hundreds if not thousands of takes.
Patience is a virtue here.
In the end it’s no different with mic’s, pre-amps, compressors and even pick-ups, in the live world, given enough time I begin to understand what I’m hearing and find a way to adjust. The rest is pretty easy
