I'd say number one thing you need to do to improve is to learn who the big players are, how they tend to play and what their habits are, and learn to recognize what looks like somewhere they're likely to be waiting.
This is only really applicable to big gv battles. If someone is waiting for you, engine off, hull down in a well sited position, you will die before you see them, no ifs ands or buts. But people have habits and patterns you can learn. You're not fighting the tank, you're fighting the guy driving it.