The author claims that the woman would not give a reason for her mysterious request, despite efforts - I'm not sure I would know how to resolve such an awkward

The author claims that the woman would not give a reason for her mysterious request, despite efforts - I'm not sure I would know how to resolve such an awkward conflict in the moment either (the conflict being the gamble on whether the woman's unstated reasons are worth sacrificing one's own feelings of safety for the duration of a flight).