asking for cheerleading is ALWAYS okay! and encouraged! and don't worry that you're bothering people -- if they don't have the time/energy/social oompf necessary to help out, they can just say 'sorry, can't right now' and it's all good. <3

but you totally should feel comfortable asking. and if there's nobody in irc who can help at any given time, post to dw_dev_training! you don't even need to explain the full details of the thing you're struggling with, even -- it's perfectly ok to say "hey, i'm kind of wrestling with the last little bits of this thing and could use somebody with experience in X and Y to be a sounding board/cheerleader; could someone help?" and then you can make an appointment or something. :)

but really, it's not an imposition! in fact, pair programming is a huge thing. (we don't do it as much because it's harder to do remotely, but it's definitely a thing!)