He's 'having a rough time (of it)'. = He's 'going through a rough time'. [=he is having a difficult time; his life has been difficult recently]
The project still has a few 'rough edges'. [=the project still has a few things that need to be changed or finished]
Don't 'be so rough on them' [=don't punish or criticize them so harshly] for making a mistake.
(..) You know, sometimes a simple yes or no answer is adequate. Hey, why didn't you tell me about your mom? She's not worth talking about. That's rough. So is leaving your husband and kids. Yeah, you never told me about him either. You know, there's a lot of stuff you didn't tell me. (..)2011 Friends with Benefits
(..) Remember them? - Is that your mom? - No, that's Dylan's speech therapist. He had a stutter. It got real bad when he was nervous. He had a rough childhood. - His math tutor called it "character-building." - Math tutor? No, we're talking, like, times equals . But he's very visual, thank God. (..)2011 Friends with Benefits