It was indirect. The going gloveless was a macho thing, so his hands show the work. When he gets it cut bad, he shrugs it off, like a tough guy (though that leads to the disease hide infecting him). So I think that persona is a result of him trying not to let the world see that he's gay. That's why I said it was overcompensation. He's a guy that feels cut off from connection and puts up a facade (and why he's bitter towards his brothers wife, because that was his last real connection, and he feels he chose her over him (but not in a gay way)).
Also, about to blow your mind, Bronco Henry was his first and likely only gay lover. I think that's part of why he holds that reverence and why he holds on to the cowboy life even though his family is rich, "elite" and he went to Yale.