vibes are definitely a thing. an old girlfriend of mine said the same, that if you look strong and ready they pass over you.

one of my friends had some assholes go to do a road rage at him while he was riding and he threw down his bike and started striding towards them like he was gonna give them a good ol glasgow handshake and they closed their car door and sped off faster than you can say boo.

it's best to be ready on a false alarm than let a bad mood project vulnerability and you lose that extra 2-3 seconds lead time you need if you are gonna run.