The gloves are in case I fall, but I rarely fall. A gravitational mishap that doesn't bring my hands or knees in contact with the ground is an unplanned dismount.
Photo by co-worker Jeff O'Neill, sometime in Spring 2002, in the parking lot at work.
I learned to ride a uni in the early 1980s. For months I was just saying to myself, "No, human beings can't do this." My juggling teacher, Steve Aveson, said two things that helped a little: "Don't look down" and "Sit your butt down on the damn unicycle."
Don't look down, because it's easier to balance if you have a clear idea of what's horizontal. Sit down, because your legs are working hard enough keeping the wheel under you. They don't need the extra effort of supporting any weight. There's a device called an ultimate wheel, which is a unicycle with the fork and seat removed. People say it's much harder to ride than a uni.
Finally someone else suggested holding a broomstick in each hand so the wheel and the broomsticks formed a tripod, and walking along with the broomsticks, gradually keeping them off the ground. I started to make serious progress at that point.