Funnily enough, I was one of those who did not particularly enjoy the Trident course. Not because I thought of myself as a controller & not a pilot : but because the whole thing was too much of a "push button" & automated experience; not "real" flying. Betrayed my attitude towards computers - even then ! I well remember our instructor (an ex WW2 pilot - type who crawled out on the wing to extinguish a fire), asking me if I was a slow learner. He had a point, I had no interest in the "automated" cockpit. But, back to the "qualities" of ATCOS; my point is that a love of aviation got a lot of us through the training & encouraged us to think outside the strictures of "the loop" when it came to controlling. When we retired, we were missed in my local environment. Several "old school" pilots said as much to our faces. It was gratifying to have had our efforts recognised in that manner !