Just my experience with living in Texas, there is a major individual independence vein that runs through a lot of folks here. In NE Ohio, sure... there were those that didn't follow the norms, but for the most part attitudes were very collective.

Texas? Don't tell them what they can do with their land. Don't tell them they need to ditch their truck. Not saying it was a 1:1 illustration in his novels, but it did give me a better insight into how folks west of Austin 'tick'.