Striking for me is something I just look at from a stepped back sort of perspective. If it's a very young snake then to me that's just defensive behaviour, quite normal and an indicator the snake is healthy and engaged in it's own need to survive. For those snakes all I can do is provide the best possible living conditions, feed them well and allow time and gentle interactions to help the snake come to understand in a very basic way that I present no risk to it.

If it's an older snake then it comes down to looking at the whole situation and that particular snake with it's unique way of dealing with life. Some snakes just don't want to be fussed with on some days. Feeding day isn't a day we handle any snake here as they are all fed in their own enclosures and are ready and fired up that day. Why bother a hungry snake? For me that's just asking to get struck at or bitten and I wouldn't expect anything less of a normal, healthy, hungry adult snake. A snake in shed isn't going to want to be bugged either. A breeding snake might not care for you that day. A rescued adult with a spotty history of poor care and handling isn't going to cut you a lot of slack at first.

In the end it's for me it's also about this being a snake, not a puppy or a kitten. It's a creature that in the end will attend to it's own needs first, defend it's own survival first and not bond with us in ways that other pets are capable of. For me and my family that's just fine, we respect what our snakes are and what they aren't. Giving the snakes that respect, that space and being very attuned to them tends to allow for a lot of good interactions where the snakes are relaxed and we are able to handle them without any fuss.