Suppose a successful university student who has reached to many scientific and academic achievements. You want to ask about their motives and especially someone who encouraged them in that difficult route. How you would ask about it:
- Who was your encourager?
Or when they want to reply that:
- I did not have any encourager. I loved to learn myself.
I didn't found the encourager definition in any online dictionary, but in my personal dictionary, it is used in many sentences.
Does it sound natural to you? How should I say it to make a better sense to the listener?