Notice, it is an act of humility on Nicodemus' part, to put this question to Jesus. It's an admission of need. To be a seeker is always an act of humility. And it is no accident that in our society, too, surveys show that the people who are best educated, those with the most wealth and status, are the ones who are least religious. Such people routinely say that they don't need religion.
Religion is a crutch for the weak, they say.
It's people who are lost who go in search of something, not those who are on top of things. And so pride keeps the Nicodemuses of the world from seeking God. They run up against some circumstance they can't control, or some longing they can't satisfy. And then the possibility of a search occurs to them. Something is still missing.