The recipe’s phrase to taste assumes somebody trusts their own tongue.

Adding salt to taste assumes a confidence a lot of people do not have. The instruction hands authority back to the cook, which is generous and also intimidating, since it requires trusting your own mouth over a printed number. Many people would rather be told than be trusted.

The cure is only practice. Taste the thing, add a little, taste again, and let yourself be the judge in a situation where the stakes are one dinner. It is a small rehearsal for larger places where the same reluctance shows up: deferring to instructions because your own judgement feels like an unreliable instrument. It becomes reliable by being used.