Hi Jeff. I’m also learning, and have been for quite a while, so I have some insights into the learning process.
Not everyone learns sports the same way. Some people can learn an entire action or skill as a unit and even do it rather quickly. These people are easy to spot, because they will say “don’t think” or “just keep at it” or “just do it” or “don’t use a wall.” Other people need to take things in steps. I am in the latter group.
Rather than “don’t think,” I would say “don’t think about anything except unicycling!” You are an adult with lots of things on your mind, no doubt, as am I, and I find that I need to concentrate on what I’m doing or else my mind wanders to other things and my riding worsens. If you are the kind of person who can turn your thinking off completely for any period of time, I envy you, because I cannot!
If you are using a support, a fence is better than a wall. A rail is even better. The purpose of a support is to have something to grab if (when) you lose balance so you do not have to fall off, return to your starting place, and remount. This will allow you to do mini-rides of a couple of revolutions while you learn basic balance without getting frustrated and exhausted. A tennis court fence is good, if you can find one, and has the added benefits of an easy riding surface and allowing plenty of practice space away from the fence too, once you are ready.
You may need to put more weight on the seat. It is easier to ride with weight on the seat and smoother, too. I had trouble making myself do it for a long time, and I was getting stuck with one pedal up and one down. Eventually, I settled down into the seat enough that it wasn’t an issue. Hope you have a comfortable seat!
You absolutely, positively, have to get more forward. By that, I mean you must force the seat in front of the wheel. Don’t just lean your body, really tip the unicycle over as if you are going to fall face first on the ground. You can do this with your hips. You won’t fall, as long as you pedal at the same time. I see that you realize now that that was why you were falling off backwards, but I’m telling you, without even seeing you, that you are still not forward enough. I know this because I really wasn’t, even when I thought I was, and that was without falling off the back at all. Keep trying until you get the timing and can do the front-back balance automatically.
Don’t worry about not seeming to make progress or apparent backwards progress. I practice intensely for three months without seeing or feeling progress and then one day I suddenly felt that it had gotten easier. I had learned the front-back balance. I still was left-right unbalanced, and would tip over sideways almost immediately, though, so I still couldn’t measure progress in greater distance traveled.
Riding faster is a bit easier than slow riding. As you start from a standstill, your first 3-4 revolutions will be a bit slower. It was helpful to me to realize that riding technique actually changes a bit as you speed up. Once I figured this out, I tried thinking that as I practiced, and my riding immediately improved quite a bit. Yes, I have to consciously analyze things like that even though it is probably obvious to other people. I have a learning disability that forces me to approach learning sports a whole different way. Once I learn something, though, I can just do it.
I hope this is helpful to you, or helpful for someone.
If you believe, then you will achieve, If you achieve then you are destined to succeed.