Hi, Cara!
While you are certainly right -- we don't know what the student is really going through -- I think the question really was meant to encourage you to recognize that there are lots of possible reasons behind certain behaviors. The student who is stoney-eyed and silent in class may be depressed, may be oppositional defiant, may be having a panic attack -- or they could just be unprepared for class. I think the caution here is that, as instructors, we should respond to the student's behavior, not what WE BELIEVE might be the reason behind that behavior.
