For the doubts over the motivational statement, from anecdotal evidence, I believe this does now account for something, especially as it is not too hard to get higher scores with multiple attempts. In the case of my application I had 5 solid LORs ready to go, one from a former O-3 who was my boss. For some reason, I believe only one LOR went through due to some formatting issues, not sure if the better ones went in, but my OR and I submitted anyways. I was not concerned at the time based on the premise "GPA and ASTB" is all that counts, which still might be true for the most part. Regardless, whether you are an auto-select or not, it is always wise to sweep the corners, and my applicant remarks and motivational statement were robust. The statement needs to answer Why Navy?, Why Naval Officer?, and Why Naval Aviator? As opposed to just talking about passion (who doesn't want to be a fighter pilot...), point to anecdotes in your past work/school/sports/hobby experience and parlay them into a compelling narrative. The cognitive dissonance lies in trying to convey personality and character traits that sometimes oppose each other. Convey that fact that you are a hard charging, independent, competent self-starter, but can also collaboratively take one for the team. You are the leader/quarterback, and you are the nurturer/coach (we may end up being instructor pilots who long for the carrier combat days). Strike a balance between officer traits and aviator traits, slightly leaning to the latter. Hope this helps, don't give up.
Here is a good article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/...garious-loners-who-take-risks-cautiously.html