I don’t have a link to this but I recall a story from the time after Gore left politics and was casting about looking for something else to do.
He had an interview with some company. They asked him, Mr. Gore, what can you do for us?
He was stunned. Didn’t have an answer. Nobody had ever asked him that before.
Your story reminds me of when Ted Kennedy was asked in an interview why he wanted to be president. He didn’t have an answer, either.