Absolutely! Quotes from Jonathan Livingston Seagull would be perfect for "thoughts of the week" as they relate to Andy. He was the quintessential JLS in the true sense Bach intended that book- just as your current quote, also, is perfect!
Unfortunately, I can’t find my copy of “Seagull” or I’d offer up some quotes.
As to the source of Andy’s courage, I think it just came from sheer determination. He was scared to death, especially in the beginning, but he just pushed through it. TM helped a lot, from all accounts. What took enormous courage was to go out night after night with new, misunderstood, cutting edge material. He was laughed at, sneered at, misunderstood, panned, and in many cases they just “didn’t get it.” Or the act would fall flat. But he pushed on, developing, experimenting, and honing his material until it was perfect. He failed over and over on the pathway to success. But he never, even for a moment, considered giving up. His drive for perfection simply overpowered any pain that he felt (and he felt a LOT) along the way.
I guess the real question is: “where did that determination come from?”