Perhaps he said he needed a change (not more money) because he was feeling burnt out or lost motivation on the project he was working on and perhaps in an attem

Perhaps he said he needed a change (not more money) because he was feeling burnt out or lost motivation on the project he was working on and perhaps in an attempt to keep him his employer tried throwing more money at him. Perhaps he turned down the more money offer because it really wasn't about money. Perhaps 6 months later he was rejuvenated and because his boss could see his leaving 6 months earlier wasn't just an attempt to "extort" more money but legitimately about burn out he hired him back on. Perhaps it would make more sense if it said "because he hadn’t played games and hadn't acted unethically"