jellyfrizz, my sister 'passed' pretty well, pre-surgery, but after having had hormones for a good while. She had the appearance of a woman; a gangly, not particularly feminine, rather butch woman, and you might think there was something a bit 'odd' about her. You might in your mind put a question mark as to her genitals. But generally people who encountered her assuming she was a woman would 'see' all the subtle things about her that reaffirmed that belief. The way she moved. The slight curve of a breast. The fairly smooth skin.
It was all those situations where you are face to face with someone who is looking at your documents that say 'male'. Signing in at the doctors' surgery. Showing your train pass to conductor. Meeting the bank clerk for a mortgage application. Checking in at the airport. Crossing any border, anywhere. Paying by credit card in a restaurant. Interviewing for a job. Starting a job. Going to any ticketed event that has non-transferable/personal tickets. Get a conveyancing solicitor. Applying for university. ... It's endless really.
Then you find you need to prove that you are the same person as it says on your document. You need to explain your life to a stranger. And there are the judging looks, picking out your more masculine bodily features. Discrimination. Hostility. Harrassment.
Though such situations do not arise every day, they arise frequently enough that she grew increasingly anxious, until she barely was able to leave the house anymore. No longer able to work, she had to face yet another person judging her in order to claim any sort of benefits. She was treated for anxiety but grew so tired of it all.
She is much better now. Has a life again. Her papers show her female name, and show her to 'be' female (legally), so it is much much rarer that her trans reality affects her. She still gets very anxious when dealing with authorities (things like that don't tend to just go away) but can manage it much better.