IT’S THE STARTER!
Whenever it won’t start just turn the key a few times until the connectors line up in the starter....then it starts...you need a new starter.
It’s not the starter. He said it jerked a few times while driving home. The starter does not effect how the vehicle runs.
Plus, the starter will either just click or make grinding or whining noise when trying to start. He did not describe either one of those symptoms.