How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph.Page)
Quote #1
The team could get there without him, the team could set up without him. And so why was he there at all? (II.42.11)
Alan's not only separated from his team by age and experience, he's also on the outside because he lacks that tech chops to do anything useful. Soon, awkward conversation leads Alan to question his whole purpose on planet Earth. Challenging professional situations will do that to a person.
Quote #2
Sometimes he watched the potential buyers come in, leave. He peeked through his office window like an imbecile […] One visitor, a professional woman in a long leather coat, saw him through the window as she was walking away, down the driveway. She turned to the realtor and said, I think I just saw a ghost. (II.74.16)
Alan remembers the dehumanizing experience of putting his house on the market and sitting through open houses. By the time he cleans the place up and makes it worthy to show to the outside world, there's not a trace of him left there. It's no wonder that this potential buyer sees him as a hanger-on from the Otherworld. Alan certainly feels like he's no longer a part of his old world anyway.
Quote #3
Alan stood in the middle of the tent, unsure of exactly what to do with himself. He didn't have any work in particular to do, or phone calls to make. He retreated to the remaining corner, sat down, and did nothing. (XIV.54.99)
This is some interesting scene blocking here. We know that Alan really doesn't know why he's even in a tent in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert or what his real purpose with the Reliant team might be. The awkwardness increases when he has to spend time with his team, who are decades younger than him. His personal discomfort ratchets up when he realizes that the young folks are, uh, bonding quite well without him.