Perhaps I am wrong, but my take on that was that, although he would most likely have had a successful career in physics, he didn't seem to be content with just

Perhaps I am wrong, but my take on that was that, although he would most likely have had a successful career in physics, he didn't seem to be content with just being another physicist in the crowd. His decision to switch paths may have been more predicated on his drive to become an "alpha dog" of his field, rather than his self-perceived "averageness" in physics.