I would have never believed footwear to make a difference if I had not experienced this phenomenon myself.
Yesterday I was working on ""Blackie" (as my grandson named my bike) and was wearing sneakers.
I started it up,put it in gear and moved about 20 feet.
When I went to put it in neutral (running to let it warm up),I could not find neutral for nothing.
It would only go in second or first.
Finally after about 10 tries it went in.
I normally wear boots and have NEVER experienced this.
I believe 100% that footwear because of "feel" makes all the difference in the world.