What should one do about feeling distressed and wishing to abandon the prayer after having started it, then returning to it, and what is the Shar'i ruling on this situation?

Prayer is great. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, made it a boundary between Islam and disbelief, saying: "The covenant between us and them is prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved," and by his saying: "Whoever misses the Asr prayer, his deeds are rendered vain." Some scholars even went so far as to say that abandoning a single obligatory prayer constitutes disbelief.

A Muslim must be careful not to be negligent with it, perform it on time, and love for it comes from maintaining it and performing it excellently, not from negligence. Indeed, Satan prevents a Muslim from every good deed, so one must strive against oneself and Satan, and supplicate frequently, so that prayer becomes a source of joy for the soul and expansion of the chest, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "And the coolness of my eyes has been made in prayer."