A difficult time in court (5)
I believe the answer is:
trial
This clue might be a double definition.
'a difficult time' is the first definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to natural events as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'court' is the second definition.
(trial court is a kind of court)
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for trial that I've seen before include "Criminal court case" , "Judicial hearing and judgment" , "Suffering - litigation" , "Dummy run" , "Experiment - adversity" .)