pride

It's got to be difficult to go 84 days without catching a fish when one's job and identity are fishing. Santiago tries his best to ignore the jokes of the younger fishermen. He has a sense of pride from a lifetime of masculine accomplishments. He remembers the great arm-wrestling match he had at a tavern in Casablanca with a large Negro man; He dreams of a pride of lions (yes the two are related) beside the water. These visions cast through Santiago's head and once again pride flows through his veins. Santiago recognizes he is old and worn now but like his idol Joe DiMaggio, he still has some game left in him.

a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct; the best of a group

Dictionary.com.

Joe