He's probably been compromised while in the Philippines. Somebody probably took him out to a strip club, got him a little drunk then shot pictures of him next to some brute tranny–or worse. We've already seen pictures of him partying in a strip club–not a smart place to be unless you're surrounded by people that are looking out for your best interests.
Maybe he needs affirmation, but if so, he doesn't need it from the types of people that would celebrate him going against Watkins (media virtue signallers). He created (?) 8ch in response to 4chan censoring things; if anything, he wants affirmation from anons. It sounds like that from the transcript that leaked as well.
While it may be the case that he "grew up" like moot, the suddenness with which he came out against Watkins seems suspect. Then again, maybe he just craves the limelight.
In any case it won't be easy to figure out without someone leaking details.