There are many aspects to consider. From a purely physical point of view, there are certain rules that should be followed. Take a look at ballistics. The laws of physics cannot be circumvented. A ball flies and lands as I throw it. To achieve the optimal trajectory for the ball, I must also throw the ball optimally. And there are certain movements for doing that. Our bodies show us our limits. Kinetic limits, at least. You can train and adapt your body accordingly. But the optimum is the optimum. If someone wobbles around in a circle when throwing, they may get a good throw. But it's difficult for them to replicate it because there are too many parameters to consider that are difficult to control. And there are already enough parameters to pay attention to. You don't necessarily need to add more. The point is to be able to replicate your throw, or a specific throw. Whether it looks nice is actually irrelevant. And then your head comes into play... which also likes to mess up the sequence of movements.

@Jimmy Skog You don't play against names. You only ever play against balls and the ground. Shoot or lay, it's your ball. Play how you feel (today, right now) No matter what happens, your team should accept your decision.

If it's just a matter of shooting a ball away, you can use the rafle. At least if the way is clear. If another ball or the jack is in the way, it's not a good option. But if you don't learn to shoot directly at the ball in an arched motion, you'll never become a real tireur. There are situations where real tireurs shoot at a specific point on the ball. This gives them the chance to get to the jack after hitting it. Or to remove two balls with one shot. Or to avoid a counterattack. The chances of hitting a specific point on the ball are rather low with a rafle. The way someone shoots has nothing to do with etiquette, in my opinion. However, I do think that apologising for lucky points scored with more or less knowledge of the game situation has something to do with etiquette. Unfortunately, most boules players here still think they are good when they unintentionally hit the jack or suddenly have 3 points after a raffle. In France, players apologise for such things.

Check your wrist. When you have the ball in your hand and are ready to shoot, check that your wrist is straight in relation to your forearm. Many people have a normal hand position where the wrist is not straight with the forearm. In most cases, the wrist is slightly turned inwards, i.e. towards the body. As a right-handed person, this causes you to pull to the left. Checking this and finding the correct position (left/right movement in the wrist) of the hand in relation to the forearm will make your shot straighter.

Wow, respect. I hope everything goes smoothly and well. That's a big step. I wish you a good start to this new chapter in your life.