Your problem, sir, is that you do not have normal filters for dealing with everyday situations and events. It can be dangerous out there if you're a peeled egg. The world bristles with sharp points and jagged corners. You became a notorious canceller. Your manager ran out of excuses.
Friends talk to friends.
The circle widens. Soon there is gossip between total strangers. He'd arrive in some major centre in the United States and find himself unable to play. In a moment of desperation he actually claimed he had sub-clinical polio. Drinks Poland water.