thats stupid. you can be confident as hell and still wear them to learn new stuff. a lot of the best skiers and riders around wear them and they are more than confident in themselves. crash pads aren't just for "going big", they can also be used for learning new things, and if you think that nothing in PA requires crash pads, then you haven't left your front door. this is the ice coast.
wearing crash pads is like a safety. the same reason we wear seatbelts in cars, put on a helmet when we hit the road or trails on a bike or the slopes on skis, or slip on a rubber before fucking a chick. its a safety.