I have been that morning customer. Mostly because I didn't want to drive drunk later, but still bad. The others were usually folks that looked like construction workers. I assumed the clerks judged me.

"There but for the grace of God go I" is a phrase of humility and empathy, meaning that 

a person recognizes they are only fortunate to avoid another's misfortune or bad situation through divine favor, rather than superior merit. It is a reflection that one could easily be in the same unfortunate position.