I have several times in recent years been in that situation. One time a young person politely chided me about my gender assumptions. I did immediately tell that person that I'm old, and so I need time to adjust.
That person remained polite and respectful to me, as I tried to be with them. Although these several years later I cannot recall the preferred pronoun. I hope I succeeded and did not come across as a jerk.
Here's another story I sometimes tell. About a decade ago I was buying shoes in a stand alone shoe store and wound up in a conversation with a young person who seemed, from appearances, to be male. We were talking about high heels and the wearing of those kinds of shoes. I could not tell if this was someone who cross dressed, or despite my thinking was was really a female, or exactly what. I honestly enjoyed the conversation and I also enjoyed the ambiguity. I'm old, 72 now. I came of age in a world that was pretty much binary: male or female. Being gay or lesbian was okay, but you were still male or female. I hope I understand how much this has changed, and I actually do know at least one transgender person. At this point in my life I'm not very likely to meet very many, and so I'm honesty appreciative and honored to know at least that one.
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