Greetings, Maninthemiddle, and welcome to the forum!
I was surprised, not having been to any assembly or convention for 4 years, by the DO's humility and kindness. It seemed to me a change in tone. Perhaps it was just the man's own personality coming through. I posted elsewhere his concluding Sunday afternoon by asking that the audience pray for him and sister DO, as 'we, too, are in pain and become lonely.'
So as to your question, the context was regarding the perils of higher learning and its deleterious effects upon JW spirituality. His beloved friend was very intelligent, leading to his becoming deeply involved in research and outside reading. The point was that his dear friend was straying from the Organization in his thoughts and speech. The quotation I put up and that you cited is nearly verbatim, though, if I recall, the acknowledgement of their friendship preceded the DO's consternation over his very intelligent friend's going off the deep end, as it's considered by JWs who keep strictly to the pubs and avoid outside reading.
Hope this helps.
CoCo