He’s not talking from a place of fear. He’s in awe after having just realized the gap might be wider than he thought, and that looking at his past interactions

He’s not talking from a place of fear. He’s in awe after having just realized the gap might be wider than he thought, and that looking at his past interactions with old people, where they’re usually intentionally hiding this gap, he fears how he can never know when he’s being foolish while thinking he’s the smartest person in the room.