I think he feels pretty confident now that his situation with NASA is secure. And it probably is. They really have no choice going forward, at least until Boeing is flying, and even then they will want to have two systems, because they know that the notion of using Orion for ISS support is farcical.
[Update Monday morning]
This is a good piece by Bhavya, but it doesn't mention the cost-plus elephant in the room: SLS. https://t.co/0tHZf6VH23
Let's try a different maritime analogy. If your vessel is being approached by another, it is perfectly reasonable to demand a declaration of intentions, and defend yourself in the absence of a satisfactory response. Why would it not be the same with a lunar facility?
We watched a documentary about the expedition last night. I was struck for the first time by the parallels with Apollo 13: A near disaster from which they recovered only through ingenuity and endurance (the ship was aptly named).
I only mentioned him in the book in terms of the probably apocryphal ad in the Times of London. If I ever do a new edition, I’ll probably talk more about that, as I did with Magellan.