Incoherent Shadow Yasuhiro notes below
Persistent sense of distrust, no matter what he or anyone does to bridge that gap–including his own mother.
“Playing the dumb game” and any other deception is the way he finds comfort with general social interaction; it gives him a sense of power and control and it’s absolutely necessary for dealing with the world.
(?????)Generally sees people as meat; substantive for his own livelihood, so investing in his "food" is wise to further his own ends. Hints that "male and female meat" is scrumptious and that "he'll take it anywhere he can get it".
Denial about finding some glee when he has the chance to prove people wrong in a curb-stomp victory of any sort, and the look of fear people might have in their eyes gives him a feeling of superiority. Who expects the prey to become the predator, after all?
Keeping people at a distance and ignorant of his intentions also feeds into his desire to control them to an extent also feeds into that “comfortable, powerful feeling”.
Teetering on giving up on forming any meaningful relationships after so much failure and give into his antisocial nature; loneliness, as much as it hurts, is preferable to being “shackled by standards”.