I'd generally call that playing the game of Survivor, I think his problem was these "morally upstanding" people and he didn't read the room. He really just overplayed way too hard, too open, too quickly especially with group of people that don't really seem to appreciate big moves. Also, the people in power haven't needed to make big moves to get where they are.
Sam openly tried to flip on his alliance on a bunch of hearsay. And they were probably going to vote him out even before they he found the idol, so I don't even think it mattered that much. Also, didn't Nick have an accomplice with him when he lied about the initial idol?
I do agree that he handled the JL/Sue situation very poorly, he really didn't need to go on his revenge quest, especially since they would naturally be whittled down due to being on the outside. But he actually told them that he wanted to vote out Barry instead of Teagan, so he didn't even go behind their backs and they talk about lying and deceiving. If they are in an alliance why can't he try to influence people without being called a snake?
I really think they vastly overstated his snakiness while they're not any better themselves, which annoys me with their grandstanding.
But anyway, there wasn't a chance on earth he was winning with those players on the jury and it'll be fun to see him there.
So ends the rant of a Nick fan lol.
On an unrelated note: as much as I hate the whole loyalty/integrity/honesty nonsense, I do appreciate how much everybody are good sports about getting voted out despite playing for such a long time.