As a person gains more and more life experience, emotional peaks and troughs smooth out.  That makes digging inside myself to bring out the joys, pains, and visceral reactions for my characters both harder and easier.  Harder because emotions are now less intense and less raw.  For example, I know ... that time and tears do put a protective cover over even the deepest hurts.  On the flip side, more experiences in my life mean that a broader range of possibilities are available, not only from the made-up author world, but from personal growth.