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Tone can indeed be everything - it can often convey more than the words. Was it "could you tell me why you pulled over officer?" or was it "WHAT THE HELL DID I DO!". If I were a cop and someone was armed and had that kind of attitude, I would be on guard also. There are certainly people with CHLs who could pass a background check but don't have the mental mindset to actually be carrying a gun (I have met a few) and thankfully they are very much in the minority.

Personally I have never asked why I was pulled over. 9 times out of 10 the first words out of the officers mouth are "Do you know why I pulled you over". Usually I have a pretty good idea why, but if I don't, I just say "not really sure - didn't think I was speeding". I am an old white guy and have probably been pulled over 40 times in my life and I have only had one officer (HPD) get a little rude with me. I asked if I had said or done something to insult him. He tone changed immediately and he calmed down - didn't even get a ticket. There was a constable patrolling our neighborhood who was bit of a thug I thought, but enough people complained about him that he was either removed from our neighborhood or removed from the constables office. He would do things like write tickets for 1-mph over the speed limit (actually saw a ticket with this on it). I have a retired family member that worked for a while in internal affairs with HPD and her attitude was that it is incumbent on citizen to report unprofessional conduct of offices, otherwise they could not build a case to dismiss or discipline them.

My general rule is always be polite when pulled over. The place to fight with a cop over a traffic citation is in court, not on the street where he has all the power - just common sense I thought.