I'm totally with you, but what's the other guys story going to be?

"This weird researcher wouldn't follow orders, and I didn't dig deeper to understand his level of commitment or anything. If I had, I would've at least seen his level of dedication and possibly rallied to support him."

That's the best possible version, and highly unlikely since, as you noted, narcissism.

Anytime I see someone intelligently committed to a cause the way Nakamura was, I respect it and will support them however I can. Even if it doesn't pan out, it's still a good story.