The second anchor text

The report about Hanzala, and alongside it the verse people quote at the wrong tense. It says the ease comes with the hardship, not at some point after it, once you have earned it.

Qur’an and Sunnah

فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا

So truly where there is hardship there is also ease

Qur’an 94:5

إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرࣰ ا

truly where there is hardship there is also ease

Qur’an 94:6

Hanzala Usayyidi, who was amongst the scribes of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). reported:I met Abu Bakr. He said: Who are you? He (Hanzala) said: Hanzala has turned to be a hypocrite. He (Abu Bakr) said: Hallowed be Allah, what are you saying? Thereupon he said: I say that when we are in the company of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) we ponder over Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our very eyes and when we are away from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) we attend to our wives, our children, our business; most of these things (pertaining to After-life) slip out of our minds. Abu Bakr said: By Allah, I also experience the same. So I and Abu Bakr went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said to him: Allah's Messenger, Hanzala has turned to be a hypocrite. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: What has happened to you? I said: Allah's Messenger, when we are in your company, we are reminded of Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but whenever we go away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, much of these things go out of our minds. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your paths but, Hanzala, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation). He (the Holy Prophet) said this thrice

Sahih Muslim 2750graded sound, sahihaynfull report

Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.