I don't think the parent commenter intended the 'level up' to be disparaging at all. It seems you interpreted it as something like 'up his game', but I believe

I don't think the parent commenter intended the 'level up' to be disparaging at all. It seems you interpreted it as something like 'up his game', but I believe the commenter meant something like: He needs to recognize that may no longer be a good use of his time; that he might need to be 'above' that.