Yes but... 9 stamina shows you've been playing much longer. With 1 stamina, you have had much less time to skill (and joined after skill nerfs) than with 9 stamina.
I'm not saying that 9 stamina improves skillgain, simply that it shows how long you've played.
The above is not completely true. I began my avatar about 5 years ago and today he has 1 stamina.
I did take a break of about 4+ years and when I returned I had only 1 stamina.