Being self-conscious about your racing may never go away, just means you're a decent human being. I've done nearly 500 races in GT Sport and only have about 15 wins and an A DR (just barely @ 34k but still counts...). I could have a ton more wins if I felt like being super aggressive or shoving people off track, but I care about what my fellow racers think of me and I can tell you it goes a long way. When you get comfortable at your level you will see the same racers over and over again and you should care about what they think. If you repsect them and they repsect you it will be a lot better racing and you most likely won't get intentionally punted often. It's a give and take when you group with the same guys over and over again - if I dont have the pace I'll give up a spot to someone coming up fast, and believe it or not, they will do the same for you at times if they just don't have it for some reason.
With that said, to move up you will have to be aggressive when it suits you and can be done safely and within reason. You can't always just sit back, especially when you get openings or the guy in front is just not pushing hard enough. Likewise, if someone intentionally punts you and you catch them, return the favor so they know you're not an easy target. It is extremely rare that I will do it since I generally give racers the benefit of the doubt and always think "maybe they just missed their braking point", but if it happens again they're gone. Overall, you are 100% right to be a conscious racer, but dont be an easy target and if you have the pace by all means be aggressive by making hard, clean passes and pull away.
