הייתי רוצה לעשות את זה בעצמי, אבל אם צריך אבקש עזרה.

הייתי רוצה is a softer, more polite way to express a wish or preference. It often corresponds to English I would like rather than I want.

• אני רוצה = I want
• הייתי רוצה = I would like

So in this sentence, הייתי רוצה לעשות את זה בעצמי sounds more courteous and less direct than אני רוצה לעשות את זה בעצמי.

הייתי is the 1st person singular past form of להיות (to be): I was.

But in combinations like הייתי רוצה, Hebrew uses this past form idiomatically to create a conditional/polite meaning, much like English would.

So although הייתי literally means I was, the whole phrase הייתי רוצה is best understood as:

• I would like
• not literally I was wanting

This is a very common Hebrew structure.

After verbs like רוצה (want), Hebrew usually uses an infinitive.

So:

• רוצה לעשות = want to do
• רוצה ללכת = want to go
• רוצה ללמוד = want to study

Here, לעשות is the infinitive to do / to make.
So הייתי רוצה לעשות is simply I would like to do.

Here את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

In this sentence:

• זה = it / this
• since זה is definite, Hebrew puts את before it

So:

• לעשות את זה = to do it

Important: this את is not the word for you (feminine singular). It is a completely different word with a different job.

בעצמי means by myself / myself / on my own personally. It emphasizes that I am the one doing it.

• בעצמי = by myself, myself
• לבד = alone

In many situations they overlap, but the nuance is a little different:

• אני אעשה את זה בעצמי = I’ll do it myself
• אני אעשה את זה לבד = I’ll do it alone

In your sentence, בעצמי fits well because the speaker is stressing personal responsibility or independence: I’d like to do it myself.

אם צריך is a very common compact Hebrew expression meaning roughly:

• if necessary
• if there’s a need
• if needed

It is often used impersonally, without stating who exactly needs something.

So the sentence is not focusing on if I need in a personal, explicit way. It is more like:

• but if necessary, I’ll ask for help

A more personal version would be:

• אבל אם אצטרך, אבקש עזרה = but if I need to, I’ll ask for help

Both are natural, but אם צריך sounds very idiomatic and general.

In expressions like אם צריך, Hebrew often uses צריך in a kind of default impersonal form.

So even if the speaker is female, אם צריך can still be used because it does not really mean if I, specifically, am in need. It means something more general like if needed or if necessary.

If you make it clearly personal, then gender can matter in other structures, for example:

• אם אני צריך... = if I need... (male speaker)
• אם אני צריכה... = if I need... (female speaker)

But in this sentence, אם צריך works as a general impersonal phrase.

אבקש is the 1st person singular future form of לבקש (to ask for / request).

So:

• אבקש = I will ask / I’ll ask

Hebrew often leaves out subject pronouns like אני because the verb form already shows the person.

So both of these are possible:

• אבקש עזרה
• אני אבקש עזרה

The version without אני is completely normal and often more natural unless you want extra emphasis.

Because the sentence means ask for help in a general sense, not ask for the help.

So:

• אבקש עזרה = I’ll ask for help
• אבקש את העזרה would sound much more specific, like I’ll ask for the help or I’ll request the help

With abstract or general nouns like help, Hebrew often leaves them indefinite.

In this specific sentence, the written form is usually the same for both male and female speakers:

הייתי רוצה לעשות את זה בעצמי, אבל אם צריך אבקש עזרה.

The main difference is in pronunciation of רוצה:

• male: rotze
• female: rotza

But the spelling is the same: רוצה.

Also, because אם צריך is being used impersonally, it does not need to change for a female speaker here.

Yes, very natural. It sounds like something a native speaker could easily say.

The flow is:

• הייתי רוצה = polite wish
• לעשות את זה בעצמי = to do it myself
• אבל אם צריך = but if necessary
• אבקש עזרה = I’ll ask for help

So it has a nice balance of:

• independence: I’d like to do it myself
• practicality: but if needed, I’ll ask for help

That combination sounds very idiomatic in Hebrew.