He looks like he might be preparing to strike food LOL, or striking position yes. I wouldn't say it's defensive, because he isn't hiding back into his hole... very likely expecting food.
You can easily overcome a defensive position with a little ball python by placing your palm straight down over his head, from above and not approaching him from the front, and then picking him up.
For a feeding response behavior like this one, you can just tap and tickle him a little on the head and neck with a rolled paper towel until he realizes there's no food and returns to his hide. Then you can pick up the hide and scoop him up.
A bite from a ball python that size feels like almost nothing.
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