As a musician (i.e., someone who frequently carries large objects up and down stairs), knowing the count is extremely useful to me. A significant portion of the time, I cannot see the ground. Instead of getting close and then feeling around with my foot one step at a time, I can just count to 14 (or whatever it is) and know I'm on the floor.

Even in a new building, it's common to walk the stairs at least once before hauling heavy equipment (to see where it's going to go), so I almost always have a count before I start.