Advice Needed: Stuck at a Skill Plateau (Ultimate Champion)

I've been playing the game everyday for a year and I've hit UC several times. BUT, I can't seem to consistently hit UC every season. This has been an issue since Jan/Feb of this year. It felt like I've reached a skill plateau. Any advice? I play hog eq, log bait and 2.9 balloon cycle.

Things I've been doing:

• Watch Youtube guides/gameplays every week
• Watch my replays
• Elixir and card counting to a certain extent

It feels very demoralizing to try so hard at this game, just to see no progress.