Read three things together
First locate the center of the next opening. Then check whether you are rising or falling. Finally judge the remaining horizontal room before the branches. Being level with the opening does not guarantee a safe approach if you are moving steeply toward one of its edges.
For example, a companion below a gap may need to keep climbing for part of the approach. Once that climb would overshoot the upper edge, reversing earlier can begin flattening the path while there is still space to do so.
Change one timing cue after a miss
If you repeatedly meet the upper branch while rising, try the reversal slightly earlier in the same approach. If that adjustment leaves you too low, the previous change may have been too large or you may have begun from a different heading.
Use a visual landmark such as the remaining space to the branch pair rather than memorizing a number of seconds. Course spacing changes, and different companions move differently. A single time interval does not fit every gate.
Know when timing alone cannot fix it
A late approach can already be outside the set of paths that avoid both branches. There is no instant turn or brake to rescue every position. A failed last-second tap can mean the setup was wrong, not that the control was unresponsive.
Trace the cause backward to the previous open space. Ask whether you entered that space too steeply, climbed too far, or spent too long turning away from forward travel. Moving the setup earlier often creates more room for a small, readable correction near the gate.