It is not confidence, it's perspective.
I have served on the board of directors of several startup private companies. I have experienced the frustrations that Larry faces: lack of operating capital, being at the mercy of your collaborators due to financial restraints, working with snail paced government agencies, politicians making promise they don't keep, dealing with potential investors who waste weeks, months of your time leading you on that they were going to invent than either pull out at the last minute or want control of your company for a relatively small investment, getting a government agency willing to support than having to wait to see it they can get the funds approved in next year budget, being one of the two finalist in a grant award only to be beaten out, and being told by a billion dollar company that they love your product and told you they would offer 500 million for your company if your product was on the market but would not invest 2 million needed to get to market also you could not tell any other potential investors this information to raise the needed 2 million because you were bound by a NDA.