Only after learning to do it reliably on the padlocks I had did I ask myself what I am actually going to do with this skill. I'm not going to rob my neighbors' storage compartments or break into any school lockers. So why do I feel so accomplished? And I do. I do not see myself ever using this and there is no way it ever comes up in casual conversation, but I still feel like this was a great use of my time. On reflection it may have something to do with my current easy access to empty beer cans.
Won't really make me better at picking in general, since you just exploit a "hack" in the latch mechanism and do not really interact with the lock itself, but on the other hand I already know I enjoyed it so speculating about why is also just for fun!
Oh, this comment made me realise I know this one already. Idk, may come in handy one day, but you could also use repeated blows of a hammer