Get Through a Stretch of Low Motivation

You are not depressed, you are not burned out, you are just not doing the things. This covers the three most likely causes that are not willpower failures, the difference between needing rest and needing something to pull you forward, and what to do on the days when the smallest possible version of the task still seems too much. Plus the three coping habits that make it worse.

I am going through a period where I cannot seem to get started on things that normally feel fine. It is not burnout exactly, just a persistent flatness. Help me:
1. Understand what is actually happening: the three most common causes of sustained low motivation that are not laziness or depression
2. Tell the difference between needing rest and needing momentum: two questions to ask yourself
3. A starting approach for days when starting feels impossible: something smaller than the smallest thing
4. What to stop doing: three habits people use to cope with low motivation that reliably make it worse
5. When this stops being normal and becomes something to address with outside support

Be honest and practical. Skip the motivational framing.