who only by moving can balance

I absolutely take the point about N=1 etc. - my work does not involve experiments! - but the issue I was trying to address isn't about whether this person respects Alex's lungs, so much as about whether he respects their brain. The harsh truth is that it doesn't matter very much whether you, or I, or Alex, think that Alex's group leader is a dick or his opinion of dubious reliability. His opinion of Alex still matters, assuming he retains some useful degree of respect from his peers. If, on being asked informally whether he'd recommend Alex for position X, he gives a less-than-glowing answer, they don't get the job. (Or, more insidiously, the co-authorship, the refereeing gig, the seminar invitation, the... all the stuff that is awarded on the basis of X's opinion of Y, and leads to success.)