I've never been happy with that explanation. I don't get why the host would not just open a single door, that's what the host does in the other scenario to me.
Sure, it could be that the host only opens one door, or it could be that he opens all but one door. In every case, however, it is better to switch. The all-but-one example is hyperbolic but still follows precisely the same mathematical rules. Your interpretation is valid, but so is the all-but-one example, and they all lead to the same result, it's just more obvious when you open nearly all the doors.
Is it, though? It seems apparent that, after the first guess, the host opens all but the last two doors, which just so happens to be 1 door.
To check the math:
Start with the $NUM_DOORS open doors. Now open all but the last two. So that’s $NUM_DOORS-2, which is 3-2, which equals 1 open door.