A few rules of thumb which may work for you?

1. If you want someone to move out of your way quickly and smoothly, first move out of their way – thay way they thank you for doing what you want them to do.

2. By the natural laws of distribution/variation/probability there’s always someone who’s worse/better; happier/sadder; richer/poorer than oneself. Helps sometimes, doesn’t other times!

3. Approach ticket barriers with an eye to the human in front of you; you’ll be surprised how many times they’ll cause a bottleneck just when you’re in a rush/looking like a million dollars. But they really don’t need a ‘reason’.