[btilly]

My take on it is this.

You can only improve if you recognize your faults. People who have become exceptional, are the type that consistently improve, who therefore constantly recognize their limitations.

Thus when I see humility from people I respect, my default assumption is that this is not false modesty - I am getting a glimpse of the process that made them into people I respect.

Not always true. However it has proven true often enough that it remains my default assumption.