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But was the depth of their friendship strictly the circumstance-driven do you think? There are indications, before Bree, in Lorien, outside Moria, of their friendship growing closer before things got really bad. That seems to be more personality-driven.
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Would this still not be circumstance-driven? Compared to life in the Shire, would not even the flight to Bree be extraordinary adventure, full of apprehension and fear? Moria even more so. If their relationship was personality-driven (and I believe it was, fundamentally), it had developed long before their adventure. It was simply intensified by the trials they endured together, to the point where all but the true, honest love was distilled from it.
Them being drawn to one another for their personalities is a given. Sam was even living with Frodo before the Quest. I think the uncommonly strong companionship we see later on was a result of that original friendship being tempered by the things they went through together. With every show of loyalty, Sam endeared himself to Frodo; and any time Sam could see Frodo's desperation, and knew that he was Frodo's only hope, his resolve to be with him to the bitter end ("if bitter it must be") was strengthened.