Oreki fangirl squealing here!
Something about brooding guys just get me.
IMO, this is what happens to people who tend to analyze their surroundings: they don't want to waste energy because they are
already spending energy on being over-analytical most of the time.
I noticed that Hotarou always emphasises that he's average, normal and whatever happens is because he got lucky. Maybe he showed great talents at an early age and got alienated because of that.