About halfway through, I agree with your assessment. He seemed stunned by a couple of the questions and didnât appear too sure of the best way to respond.
Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, I recall listening to a Lex Fridman episode where he mentioned Peter Thiel. Lex mentioned something along the lines of, "I'd like to have him on, but he's too powerful and important to engage in any free-flowing conversation, except those centered around a single theme."
Maybe that bit of information is influencing my perspective, but I think the reason he seems nervous is that this might be the first time heâs participating in a public, free-flowing discussion. If most of his interview experience has been confined to narrow themes, then free-flowing for millions of people to listen to would definitely be a significant change of pace.