Ticklishness certainly depends a lot on mood and varies from person to person. Sadness or a great deal of anxiety probably lessen the response.
Most people are less ticklish when they're more relaxed, just as most people are less susceptible to pain when relaxed. Put another way, a little anxiety or discomfort makes most people more ticklish. This is part of why blindfolds and threats of imminent tickling increase ticklishness.
A lot of people claim the reverse, that they are more ticklish when relaxed and comfortable with the person tickling them. Some no doubt are -- everyone is a unique case, of course. Others may be in denial. They may want to associate tickling with pleasure and affection, when IMO it has more similarities with pain and physical assault, at least of the light-hearted sort. People may also be more open to expressing their ticklishness through laughter and arousal when they're comfortable and relaxed.
Your second question surely varies a lot from person to person as well. But there are two kinds of tickling, one on the surface of your skin and one deep in your muscles. Light tickling causes the first kind, but can't elicit the second. Maybe you're not ticklish the deep way? Also, some people associate the muscle tickling with pain and find it unenjoyable. They might not consider it tickling at all. It's definitely a different feeling.
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