I've found that I inherently think that I've screwed up majorly in my code. Evidence shows though that's not the case, but that doesn't change how I feel. As my own strongest critic I write some pretty strong test cases, because I'm sure I did something wrong. Of course I can't test my own test plan, so I'm always worried that I missed something stupid where I should have known better.

I also don't like strong emotional confrontation.

Can you see why I wouldn't want to work with someone abrasive like Torvalds? Part of me will always be on edge expecting to be chastised, even if that were never directed to me. So it isn't only the targets of his abrasion which are affected, but also those who think they might be targets, even if that belief is wrongly held.