I am just starting to learn about the concept of "near-peer" mentoring. I had two near-peer mentors who helped me as I worked toward tenure. Dr. Hans Klar's Tenure Talk presentation was incredibly helpful. As I moved through my early years at Clemson, I went to him for guidance in understanding the processes and expectations of faculty in my department. Additionally, Dr. Corrine Sackett was a tremendous resource for me. She was just ahead of me in the tenure and promotion process. She told me what to expect and shared how she approached the process with me.
I think the same thing can happen with doctoral students. My guess is many of you consulted with current or recently graduated doctoral students in deciding whether or not to start the program. I haven't found much on near-peer mentoring as it relates to doctoral students, but I strongly recommend it. Finding just one person who can share their process and with whom you can be honest (as I hope the near-peer mentor would be honest) about the ups and downs of the experience is incredibly valuable. While there is not a lot of scholarship on this, below are a couple of possible resources.
Lorenzetti, D. L., Shipton, L., Nowell, L., Jacobsen, M., Lorenzetti, L., Clancy, T., & Paolucci,
E. O. (2019). A systematic review of graduate student peer mentorship in academia.
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 27(5), 549-576.
Willingham-McLain, L., Margolis, J., & Klingler, N. (2019). Designing and Evaluating a Near-
Peer Mentoring Exchange for Early-Career Faculty. The Journal of Faculty Development,
33(3), 59-70.
Additionally, here is a note about "starting a group" from DailyOM. It might provide some helpful information about how and why to find your support, as well. I hope you find this useful. Have a great day.