Taming/Bonding Question

[Bogertophis]

...

He was/is a gentle, confident, forgiving snake. During my time at the museum, he reached through to so many people who were initially terrified of snakes, and he's the reason I own one today.

Anyway, this leads up to my main question:

How typical is this?

And, within reason, can any ball python be conditioned to be this mellow with enough desensitization?

Snakes are like people or any other animals...there are "typical" personalities but also individual differences which may be genetic or based on their past experiences, &
likely the result of both combined, not to mention the empathy of the person with whom they have the most contact...I believe that may be the biggest influence of all.

I say this as one who has over 3 decades of practice sharing my snakes with "the public", & I just had 3 of my snakes to the local fairgrounds for a 3 hour "meet & greet"
during the annual "Wildlife Expo". During that time, my snakes were held by me & by others -touched by many hands without a trace of distress, much less hostility.
I'm very proud of the way my snakes remain calm thru all such events, particularly because we don't do many of these any more, so it's not as if it's their "routine". We
were there, set up & non-stop interaction*, & that "3 hours" didn't include the pack-up and travel time to & from the location. The event was tiring for me as well as my
snakes, but always worth it to change hearts & minds about snakes and promote tolerance & appreciation of wild species. (*they had rotating breaks throughout though)

In my experience, once my snakes are calm with me, that appears to carry over to all other people they meet. Ball pythons are generally mellow snakes to begin with,
but I no longer keep BPs. The "good-will ambassadors" I took this time were a 4' Trans Pecos rat snake, a normal corn snake, & my Australian spotted python. I usually
take one of my 7' male Florida rat snakes but didn't this year -they're getting heavy & I opted for variety in what I could carry easily in one trip, as I couldn't park close
this time.

So no one can really answer your question, at least not with a guarantee: some BPs are shyer than others, some might go off feeding as a result, but IMO most snakes
learn to feel secure when their caretaker has patience & empathy, so I'd predict you'll have continued success...I hope so. It's lots of fun too.

Afterward, I tucked my tired snakes into their clean enclosures for a nap, then dinner...they really work up appetites doing this, & they're already looking for more.