“It is not the shy who learns,” and “Be careful with the honor of the Torah.”
Why? It is because man must degrade himself and go study. If a person is careful with the honor of the Torah, meaning accustomed himself that his body will respect the Torah, that the Torah is something important to him, he can degrade himself for the Torah.
This is so because shame comes primarily when one thinks he might be despised. However, for something important and respectable, it is worthwhile to suffer. Therefore, one who is not careful with the honor of the Torah will find it difficult to degrade himself over words of Torah.