Sounds silly, but this works for me. Tap it in really fast. Insert it to where you thing the ends are together and give it a good tap with something that won’t bend it or break it (wood) but still has enough momentum to get it in the next hole.

I also found for tricky ones if you put something to make a fulcrum where the ends meet to start the loop side and then bend the ends just slightly to take some of the aggressiveness out of the splaying