Am I the only one that interpreted it as him calling himself foolish?

Hes not praising himself, I was recklessly brave going into the lions den, isnt prasiing yourself, its admonishing yourself, like you took on some insane challenge without thinking

Best example is the US president

You have to have a certain amount of bravery and humility to program because failure is with you at every step of the way. I know. I do this shit as a hobby.