i think one of the reasons why i love writing sv clark so much is because he's always so quiet. he's so quiet. and so dishonest about it too. he has a million thoughts running through his mind and contradicting one another at the same time and boy does nothing but lie to himself and others about them. and that's part of the reason why he's so blissfully unaware of certain thoughts and feelings within him. because he just ignores them, pushes them down, shields them away, never articulates them. he picks one (1) thought out of the abundant ocean of his mind and runs with that. he doesn't take his time to slow down and reflect. and when he does, he will find a reason to discredit how he feels, he will tell himself "no, don't feel that" or "no, you shouldn't think like that" and let a set of abstract, moralistic guidelines govern how he should feel and react to certain situations and people.
in later seasons (8-10), clark does learn how to be more honest with himself and others, he confronts himself with the reality that he can have complex feelings. he learns to accept them and he understands that those complex feelings are part of who he is and how he interacts with the world.