Several things to look for. Make sure the motor is freely moving back and forth on the carriage it rides on. It needs to be able to float back and forth freely and smoothly. Upon start up the belt has to be able to slip to some degree. Genuine Maytag belts need to be used, they are designed to slip.

To check the transmission, remove the belt and hand turn the tranny in both directions. It should turn freely both ways, one way for wash the other for spin. In the spin direction it will turn a little stiff until you make a few revolutions.

Lastly, do the lights dim when it's trying to start? A voltage drop to the outlet it's plugged into can sure cause a motor to trip out on overload and overheat.

It is possible the motor is bad, but I would make sure all of the above check out. If the tranny turns hard in the agitate direction that isn't a good sign. A bad bearing in the tranny is the likely culprit. Would be a costly repair.