Yeah, sounds like he wants that for workouts anyway. It's hard to improve on your own even if you're the most self-motivated person.
He says the conversation took a minute and a half and he was rambling and emotional while Pete Julian said about 10 words. Maybe Julian was choked up too, but from a coach of 5 years, I would want some substantial words of encouragement to put me at ease and absolve me of any guilt for the decision. It doesn't seem like it's out of nowhere.