From my experiences it goes more like this “In an ideal world, we’d behave this way. We’re not in an ideal world though and your competitors have no problem doing this so you should know what to do, in case the market determines it’s the best course.” with a knowing wink thrown in.
Plus, he had “concept of a plan” in his front pocket. He had that think ready. If nothing else, his debate prep got that in his head.