The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 13 letter word SORROW/CROOVE
S
O
R
R
O
W
/
C
R
O
O
V
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "distress/Jock’s sty" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case distress/jock’s sty = sorrow/croove.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.