I will throw in my two cents. I think he has to super careful what he says re the ME. I noticed he was referring to his notes more than usual to get the dialog correct. As we know, just one wrong word and all hell could break out. Tired? Probably. Careful? Absolutely.
*Careful* is probably a more accurate description....I got the impression (JMHO) that he was waiting for a certain question that never came up....