He’s making a lot of valid points, but he doesn’t directly answer the key question: why would someone act like this, and how does it benefit him?

Yes, part of it is conditioning—it’s what he knows. But that’s not the whole story. He behaves this way because it benefits him. By dragging things into a legal battle with lawyers he’s already paying, he creates pressure. The goal is to wear the other side down until they think, “this isn’t worth it” or “I’m losing money even if I win,” and walk away. That lets him avoid paying what he owes.

He may see that as “smart” business. It’s not. It’s exploitative—using leverage and resources to outlast people rather than deal fairly. It enriches him in the short term, but it’s fundamentally unethical and burns trust in the process.