zlacker

You can get a sense of his feelings about this how he talks with his wife at the summit afterwards. He says something like "There were lots of people taking pictures and waving. I was chill", indicating he felt he had done well in a situation he had anticipated may have been challenging. THey'd likely discussed this extensively before.

Also, previously through the climb he makes efforts to be deliberate and chooses to interact positively with some of the people. Waving, offering a hand on glass for a high five, making a few jokes at the fans' expense over the headpiece "I offered him a high five. He was too busy on his phone. Kids these days"

My feeling about all this is the presence of many people was something he had rehearsed a lot and decided he was going to stay relaxed and positive about, and that's what he did.

He don't spook easy.