We value the ability to work with others over exceptional technical skills. That is, while there is value in the latter, we value the former more.
No "no", no defensiveness, but the preference is clear.
"Here, we place a strong focus on ability to work with others and collaboration. Success requires teamwork!"
Don't justify your preference, just state it directly. It's not about tradeoffs, it's that we're fundamentally doing something collaborative -- everyone needs to be on the same team.
That message is lost when you just say "nice, caring humans".
I'd rather know that my talents aren't welcome than waste time in meetings explaining why their feels don't make the code work. There are plenty of companies that want people who can manage to code something that works without involving 16 other people.
There are plenty of people who want to work in that environment and it helps me filter out the places I don't want to work by knowing they don't want individual contributors.
Imagine how it would look if they wrote "no pushovers or girly-girls, please"
Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize.
Avoiding plummets into flamewar is why we have that guideline, so please follow it, as you should follow all the guidelines at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.