Krug most likely recommendeds three users for the same reason that NeilsenNielsen recommendeds no more than five users: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/
The law of diminishing returns kicks in noticeably at around the third user, and after the fifth user the amount of new insights tails off significantly.
The image above is from Nielsen's article.