I meant more on the secondary/high school level. From what I read, it seems almost everyone good at maths/physics that grew up in the US had a miserable experience in school. The whole "nerd/geek" thing and being near the bottom of the school hierarchy.
In my experience in Russia, "nerds" were rather those that were extremely diligent but did not really have passions or interests; being good at science was actually seen as kinda cool. Sports achievements were not really emphasized at all.
But it is all anecdotal, and I would like to see some actual studies on this.
Why do you think that in English speaking countries is different than others? I temporarily currently living in France and I do not have many contacts with non scientists, but the ones that asked me what I do all found it cool sounding.