Sounds like he is as you surmised, unsure of how to act around her. Women are conditioning men to be more feminine/agreeable/vulnerable when it is actually against our nature. I view the man you’re talking about as trying to find a balance between his masculine and feminine side but it’s coming across as inauthentic as he sways from one side to another. I think the antidote for such inner conflict is to press towards authenticity. Sometimes we try different ways of being but it doesn’t stick. It’s just not who we are and want to be. If we can identify the needless compromises we sometimes make, we can stop ourselves from trying to fit into a mold that someone else wants us to be in. I think with societal conditioning the way it is, it’s quite a challenge to express oneself authentically and to unapologetically be a man when masculinity is being ostracized and marginalized. Takes a lot of courage and effort to be authentic in these times. Which includes being vulnerable and expressing feminine attributes.