Right, so it sounds like the people who are happy with themselves have lots of emotional capacity for being interested in your thing, but other people can't do

Right, so it sounds like the people who are happy with themselves have lots of emotional capacity for being interested in your thing, but other people can't do it so they change to an easier subject. The key is to make it about them. Is your project something they can use in their life? Don't tell them they can use it - ask about the pain points you're trying to solve with your thing, and see if they have those pain points. Make it about them. If it's uber for dogs, the conversation is about their dog. If it's about Jucero for meat, it's about their eating habits. Then you mention that you're working on something that you hope will make x easier for people like them, and leave room for them to ask questions, rather than jumping in with a sales pitch.