Why might a handler mistake a sand boa's reaction on the surface for aggression when it is merely trying to retreat?

A healthy sand boa's primary defense when startled on the surface is to immediately try and burrow away

Despite possessing a generally docile temperament, the ingrained, secretive, and burrowing instinct of the sand boa is paramount to its behavior, especially when it feels disturbed or unsafe outside of its preferred substrate. If a sand boa is handled or picked up while it is resting exposed on the surface, its immediate, healthy, and natural reaction is not typically to aggressively fight but rather to attempt an immediate retreat by trying to burrow directly away from the disturbance. For an inexperienced handler, this sudden, rapid downward movement or attempt to push through whatever surface they are resting on can be misinterpreted as a defensive strike or aggressive lunge, when in reality, the snake is merely executing its primary survival mechanism: seeking immediate concealment underground.