Bhagavad Gita 1.2
दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा । आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत् ॥
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṃ vyūḍhaṃ duryodhanas tadā | ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt ||
Translation
Then King Duryodhana, having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle array, approached his teacher and spoke these words.
Reflection
When have you needed reassurance, even when you've had the upper hand?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter One
Duryodhana has the bigger army. He is the king on his own ground. By any measure, he is winning before the fight begins. He goes to Drona anyway. The verse does not say he goes to be advised. He goes to speak to Drona. He needs the teacher to hear him say it out loud. This is what insecurity disguised as command looks like. Not weakness. Just the small motion of a strong-seeming person checking, before the battle, that the room still contains the person who once told him he could do it.