But throughout, for me, there was a dignity, a sense of assuredness, polish, style about him.
But the most audacious display of assuredness came from Baez, the energetic and versatile Chicago Cubs infielder known for his wizardly glove work.
They have the sort of assuredness that the Yankees wielded like a light saber in recent postseasons, a trait rooted in the knowledge that they have won before.
A lack of assuredness in defence, with Spurs missing holding midfielder Scott Parker, also did not help the home side and Norwich took advantage to score the winner.
Among the believers, there is a blithe sense of assuredness that Mr Modi will deliver to India what his predecessor Manmohan Singh, a reticent 81-year-old technocrat, couldn't: decisive and corruption-free governance.
"It was alrriiiiiight," I said, with a level of assuredness wholly and embarrassingly disproportionate to my level of actual, accrued knowledge and/or experience.
Since then he has not stopped speaking out, and a political trait of Mr. Blair's has resurfaced: the role of high-profile international statesman brings out in him an assuredness and resolution that often seem wanting in his handling of home-grown crises.
Slowly but surely, moment by moment, the film moves from uncomfortable social satire into the much darker territory of the horror film freak-out, and with such assuredness it's hard to know exactly when things go off-course.
Kathryn Morgan, in her debut as Emerald, had perhaps not quite sorted out all of her steps; what she lacked in assuredness she gained in musicality.
Though it may ride on the assuredness of "the attitude of wealth, it also stays open to the reality that the world often delivers what you need, thus "the gratitude of the poor".
Both players worked at a high level of rhythmic assuredness, and their rapport together was palpable.
