This.
One of the catalysts for my interest in military history was a 1980s PBS Frontline show (I can hear the eyerolls and ughs on that as I type) called “The Battle for the Norweigan Sea.”
One of the interviewees, I think it was John Lehman actually, said that in order to win we had to keep the sea lanes open, while the Soviets had to keep them closed. And to guess which side had the easier task ...
Very true.