Did you catch the illusion of Q+ later in the episode. Pride standing in front of a mirror that has what looks like it could be a Q & a definite + sign. Later, Pride steps away, & easy to see it is not a Q, as the bottom portion goes off the mirror. Says illusion.
In the FBI show, they did ask the question, "Who is Q", while trying to figure out a reporters code. They shifted 1 letter from Q to P, & it opened the code for a name.
After reading those the different comments & Q drop, makes sense. Like the Q+ illusion on the mirror.