I’m no pro archer, but in my experience once you have a full draw it’s not that bad to hold.

I don’t know how else to describe it, but holding the shot feels like you’re “inside” the bow. Like you’re pushing against two perfectly spaced walls that are gently squishing you.

Drawing the bow, in my experience, is the tiresome part. More like quickly ripping apart a stack of paper.

All that said, I agree that soldiers weren’t purposefully missing the other soldiers. Everybody wants to win from the shock of an alpha strike breaking the enemy morale and nobody would let their enemy to do it to them.