I always interpreted it as until that point, he was somewhat hesitant to be a hunter - his dad went away and left him and his brother alone, probably often came back injured - and he was also wrapped up in taking care of Sam. Whatever happened on this hunt was kind of the "AHA!" moment that made him realize "Hey, maybe this is something good after all."
As an aside, I agree with being annoyed with all the Sam is a snot that fandom produces. I'm currently working on a pre-series fic that is turning into something pretty epic, and getting into Sam's headspace is really, really interesting to me, because it's forcing me to analyze not just his motivations for leaving, but everyone else's for letting him walk out the door.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-07-21 10:58 pm (UTC)As an aside, I agree with being annoyed with all the Sam is a snot that fandom produces. I'm currently working on a pre-series fic that is turning into something pretty epic, and getting into Sam's headspace is really, really interesting to me, because it's forcing me to analyze not just his motivations for leaving, but everyone else's for letting him walk out the door.