Yuki gets props because he's a faster version of what many of us do here: we race more than twice a year, and we go hard when we piin the number on and see where that takes us. He's a world class runner who runs the way we WISH we could: lead a marathon from start to 35K and not get swallowed up but latch on to the back on the lead pack? Hell yeah, this is the stuff that average runners dream of doing but we don't have that ability.
I think its why the hate for Kersee was so strong here over his "coaching" of Mu: he took an athlete who was enjoying her athletics career (to a certain degree) and made her stop racing and, from interviews, basically made her hate the whole thing. And only race three times last year (1x 1500, 2x 800). Basically less than a high school freshman. Yuki clearly enjoys running, enjoys racing, and is what many, many of us would like to be.
So, yeah, he's a folk hero to many of us runners around the world on how he runs, races and handles his business. Unlike the zen masters and "I only race in perfect conditions and then hide out in Addis for the other 11 months of the year", Yuki is us.
With way more talent.