EX'
EVERYTHING is ALWAYS personal with CS, all the time. Always has been and always will be.
It is sort of a way of doing business and doing personal oneupsmanship at the same time. Like
most top racers, nothing new. But, not all. Not with Badger. Not with Dan. ALWAYS with AJ, plus some.
For instance, in the film clip he says something like this: "We learned that they were going to use the KR (or King of the Road) name and we grabbed that and put it on our cars first. That makes my day..." or the equivalent.
HOW he learned and from whom is not known by us, but he tells the story such that you must conclude that he "jumped their claim", not much different than a cheating silver or gold miner's trick against another unsuspecting miner.
But, he was certainly honest perhaps more than necessary when he claimed he was no businessman and no engineer. He's got that right. But, he figures his skills are surrounding himself with the best engineers and best businessmen. Well, if CS was a very good supervisor, that might make enough sense to accept. But, when he goes off the handle, many good engineers and good businessmen might rather take a powder than be required to take the abuse.
Perhaps some of his old pals reflect on the years of abuse as "battered employee" syndrome. Most publicly do not say so, but most of them have very fine manners in public; although i recall Badger cutting "Shel a large one at one of the SAAC annual events. And even at Boulder to a large degree. It was a joy to watch the Commodore squirm, because it was the truth. The subject was the importance of the kit makers to the history and continued interest in the cars.
CSX
Never thought about your intriguing insight, "...anti-rejection meds are brutal..." much, might be valid, don't really know, but i don't think CS needs meds to form a personal frame of mind. His thinking and phrasing don't seem any different than 40 years ago, except he might be even more impotent
for success.