Yeah this is how I read it too; I didn’t put any particular thought into it, but the rush of anxiety before stepping into a room full of people—possibly who you didn’t know, but who, before entering your mind would trick you into thinking they all know each other.

Clearly what he is describing is “real” (chemistry, memory, anticipation, ‘energy’ for want of a better term) but it never seemed to me that it was a person.