You are correct.
Nobody owes you a “thank you”. That said, I am an advocate of manners.
If someone is right behind me and I hold the door, I don’t expect any kind of acknowlegement.
But if I stop and hold it for any period of time, and the person walks right by me without even saying anything I just say “You’re welcome” and go about my business.
If someone opens the door for me, I make eye contact, smile, and say in a friendly voice “Thank you!”
Funny, I used to ride mass transit occasionally, and I on a crowded train I would offer my seat to an older person or a woman, and the looks I got...people were bugged out.
Well. I guess I can’t blame them. And I don’t go on mass transit anymore. I see it as dangerous.
Don’t you just love it when you come to an intersection with a 4-way stop and some do-gooder waves you ahead when it’s not your turn? Who do they think they are?
I associate mass transit with cities, which IMO are psychologically unhealthy places: I know, I work in one.