The way soulless sam is treated both in the show and by the fandom really annoys me cause its very much just Sam unmasked to me.
I mean, I think another, perhapsmore accurate, read would be that this is Sam disassociating from himself and is basically a trauma response.
But I think a lot of Soulless is just... Sam. Just not the palatable version he puts effort into. (Which is also comparable to a trauma response anyway)
Whilst obviously the main thing that throws people is that Soulless has seemingly no empathy, I do not think thats entirely different to our regular Sam. Although he is better at being/acting empathetic, I do think he has quite low empathy in general. He can emphasise when it relates to him and he can put himself into their shoes (hence why he connects best with the "freaks", outsiders and younger siblings a lot) but struggles with empathising with others.
He is also quick to jump to logic, and seems to almost forget to be more empathetic and emotional at times. (Such as when the suggestion of sacrificing a virgin came up in s3 or when presented with a victim he cannot relate to- his eye rolls, sass and bluntness are usually charming to people, no?)
He puts conscious effort into weighing both sides of the arguments, but once hes caught up in an idea he doesn't think about it from any other angle until Dean points it out. Like when suggesting that they'll only have to occasionally harvest organs if they willingly become zombies together. He runs off his own emotions and seems genuinely shocked when Dean is rightfully freaked out.
Soulless Sam, particularly after Dean realises the fact, is just Sam without the effort. I mean you can see as early as s1 Sam sort or hypes himself up and forces a smile when talking to witnesses. He goes more into a character and often picks up on the other person's energy and attempts to copy it, unlike Dean who sort of sticks with the same charm every time and doesn't really change much when talking to different people. It comes more naturally for Dean.
And Sam drops that smile and attitude pretty quickly after turning away from these people. And is quick to run the conversation back and think of it logically.
This is not to say he isn't sympathetic, he just isn't as empathetic. Soulless obviously struggles with both. He does not really have the feelings for it, but he does remember it and try based on logic and context. "Safe space". He's just not as good at hiding that he doesn't really get it, whereas "regular" Sam does.
Same way that Sam has always been in tune with Deans moods and reacted appropriately to what Dean wants and expects. When soulless doesn't do that whole song and dance, it upsets and angers Dean. Even though it's really not his fault.
Tldr: Sam has always struggled with low empathy and reacting "correctly" to other peoples feelings. And has always been more logic driven. Being soulless just made it more clear or "extreme" and people/dean use the fact that is "not the real Sam" as a reason to demonise that.