For a time, it was a standard joke for an actor to ask “What’s my motivation?” as a catchphrase symbolizing… I dunno… being a pretentious airhead who’s probably gay or something (example), but, heck, the actor may not remember what emotions he needs to be carrying over from the previous scene for this one. The previous scene might have been shot weeks before, or will be shot weeks from now. The director has to keep track of stuff like this.