Qualitative interviews with postgraduate journalism students at a South African residential university inform this exploratory study on emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 national lockdown. The aim of the study was to interrogate and describe the students' personal experiences related to ERT and the way their initial expectations for the academic year were disrupted. The findings indicate that students struggled to adapt to ERT due, in part, to unequal access to infrastructure and an inability to regulate their home environment. A key finding of the study is that students relied heavily on peer support to encourage and motivate them during this period of disruption.