Star,
It's probably more complicated in many cases. Speaking only for myself, I had plenty of opportunity to explore my gender identity, 20+years, but it was not until I entered therapy that finally came to grips with it. I had sought therapy for symptoms that I would eventually learn were a manifestation of my GD. Up that point I readily identified as CD or gender fluid. You'd think it would be a short leap from there to TS, right? Not so much, it turns out.
Therapy can be shortcut to understanding our gender identity, but you have do the work, no matter where you end up.
