I think you’re right.
Despite how Nick is very You Must Always Obey the Law At All Times I Don’t Care If He Killed Your Daughter Its Still Murder, he does have a very shoddy relationship with the truth.
You can say it started with him becoming a Grimm, but I think you’re right – I think it’s been with Nick since Aunt Marie, since Juliette never seems suprised he’s lying to her, only disappointed. And it’s such a constant thing, like he lies about stuff there’s no real point lying about? It’s become such a coping method for him.