A big aspect of this is that how you are treated is your own attitude and behavior. Most of the folks I met on tour reported meeting mostly warm, friendly, kind, and generous folks. One guy we leap frogged a good bit of the way on the Trans America had problems many places he went. The difference I saw was that he thought of the locals as hicks and hay seeds, the truckers as murderous thugs, and generally expected the worst from people. With that attitude and those expectations he managed to bring out the worst in folks. Still, even with his poor attitude he was met with hospitality a lot of the time.

Smile and treat folks well and they will generally return the favor. Oh and one other thing that I found made a big difference... Take off your sunglasses when talking to people. That last is a bigger deal than folks realize. Rural folks will accept the funny clothes, shoes, and odd means of transport if they can see your eyes when you talk to them.