I never said he was "focused on preparing his team to to the exclusion of all else", it seems you are.
I personally don't see much to lead me to believe that, and I think this statement is evidence of that.
Knowing the stakes is the base line for everything else. To not care about it is one thing, to have no clue what they are doesn't inspire confidence in their prep work coming in
I also don't think he was sending a message, you need to watch the video.