Yeah but he’s got magic Adderall genes so he has to hold himself back or else lose his scholarship.
I wonder if early seasons Bashir is actually naive and puts his foot in his mouth or is just pretending to be to throw people off the scent of his superior mega brain.
The whole genetic enhancement storyline was a sudden and massive retcon, so I would imagine the viewer can read into Bashir’s behaviour up until that point any way they choose.