What causes the steering to be to hard one way or the other
There may be a fourth issue as well, and that may be the pivot tube and Reverse Latch "bearing sleeve" have become corroded up.Assuming you mean it's stiff both directions:
Could be several things.
1. Defective steering cable or helm unit
2. Steering cable froze up in the aluminum tube where it attaches to the transom shield.
3. Corrosion around the bushings for the steering helmet/fork where it goes through the transom shield.
Disconnect the cable from the steering arm on the transom shield and see if the drive moves freely both directions.
Disconnect the cable from the tube and see if you can pull the cable out of the tube.