In the sim, wheel friction, especially when all the aircraft weight is on the wheels, is not very accurate. It allows for a lot more weathervaning (where the aircraft wants to yaw into the relative wind) than you see in the real world, especially with tricycle-gear (nosewheel) aircraft. Thus, crosswind takeoffs in the sim are more difficult than IRL. However, ironically, crosswind landings are somewhat easier in the sim due to the same incorrect mechanics.
In reality, when you touchdown upon landing a small plane, if you have a lot of side load (meaning lateral drift) when transitioning from the fluid of the air to tire and pavement, the sudden purchase of wheel friction will cause a fairly immediate change in vector, which torques the plane fairly hard, and can cause damage to the gear or tires, or worse, a ground-loop. On takeoff, the same friction mostly overcomes the weathervaning, but it doesn’t overcome the left-turning tendencies (in most prop planes) from torque, p-factor, and spiraling slipstream, which usually requires a decent amount of right rudder.
In the end, the goal is to maintain the centerline, tracking along the centerline, with the long axis of the plane oriented along the centerline (unless you’re flying a B-52 
), and there are different techniques to do that, which your instructor will most definitely cover.
Best of luck in your endeavor!