There is no cure except for work...
But to reiterate some tips from earlier: Keep your hands away from your body. Your top hand shouldn't be glued to your hip, get it out away. Seems kind of unnatural at first, but it will help with the second part: use your top hand / wrist roll to really move the puck, not your bottom hand. Keep a loose grip on the bottom hand (I have my kids practice with a toilet paper role to make sure they keep a loose bottom hand).
This whole, "keep your hands away from the body" thing is definitely the uncomfortable thing for me. I see deke wizards and it just looks strange, how far they get the top of the stick away from their body. I think probably because i do use such a long stick, with a lie that reflects that. So to get the stick that far out, feels like i'm at weird angles where i'm just trying to toe drag in every direction, and have that top hand extended pretty much all the way out if i want to drag the puck in tight, where it doesn't feel like i have any room to stickhandle back out with any authority. I'm just not really sure how to make that feel right.
Problem is, i don't really want to start using a shorter stick, because i feel like i'm always just going to be a trash stickhandler, and i like the other things i can do with a long stick. Plus, it's just what i've become accustomed to. Feel like i'd be giving up more than i'd ever gain at this point, to totally change the way i do everything else.
Eyes and head UP. This is the biggest one. I see too many kids/players that can destroy me on a Super Deker, but I will smoke them on the ice because, well...those aren't cones playing defense, but people. Learn how to read the defense's stick and skate positioning. If you are going to practice in the house, watch TV while you are doing it...good way to keep your head up and use peripherals to see the puck/ball.
I mean,
this is the thing i
don't have an issue with. This is my life...just sorta pick left/right and maybe throw in a fake...but it's a sorta one move thing.
In the end, use your speed, it's way better than dangling anyways (if you slow down to dangle, backcheckers will always catch up, you'll have to beat the same guy over and over). A good chip and chase (not dump) sometimes works better than trying to get too fancy.
This too, is pretty much my gambit. 1 on 1 off the rush, it's pretty much pick a side, maybe a body fake thrown in. Try to skate around them, or at least shield the puck away while i do it. It often actually works. Sometimes i'll even just accidentally end up Jeff Skinnering and doing a 360 trying to use my butt to drive a defender off when i panic. Just all positioning and trying to either speed around someone, or put the puck out of reach until someone else shows up. It works sometimes. Other times it doesn't. But stickhandling is basically just...kinda...push the puck away and try to vaguely maintain control while doing whatever.
I figure it's probably just a hopeless cause, because like you said...work is the key to it all. I just don't have the time or energy to devote to that anymore. I enjoy playing just fine and i've got a niche where i can be plenty useful. I just always feel like a dumbass when i'm 1 on 1 and freeze up with a simple one direction move...or even just goofing around playing pretend shootout and my "move" is basically "take a shot".