Why are you even on the water? Being in a boat with no steering not only sounds completely pointless but more importantly, incredibly unsafe. Add in the fact that you don’t have a cox box and then it becomes really unsafe.

Are you having problems motivating them because of the situation you’re in with the boat or are you having trouble because they’re just not that into rowing? If it’s because of the boat, there’s not much you can do other than remind them that (hopefully) this is only a temporary situation and that they’ve just got to make do with what they’ve got. Tell them that instead of focusing on how much the boat sucks, focus on themselves. Think about THEIR strokes, THEIR body position, THEIR timing, THEIR technique, etc. Channel the frustration into something productive. If you’re having problems motivating them because they’re not that into the sport, that’s tough. Rowing is one of those sports where the motivation has to inherent otherwise external motivation isn’t going to have an effect.

Remember, you are NOT their cheerleader. Motivating them is, in my opinion, about 2% of the role of coxswains. It’s miniscule. You’re there to give them feedback, to tell them what they’re doing right, what they’re doing wrong, how to improve, what needs to change, who needs to change it, where you’re at in the race, what the other crews are doing, what they need to do to hold off the other crews or walk on the crews ahead of them, etc. Being motivating doesn’t mean that you’re sugarcoating things or stroking their egos either – it means being brutally honest, no matter how much they might not want to hear what you’re saying, in the hopes that what you say lights a fire under their ass and gives them the push they need to do what needs to be done.