The problem is that crashing his motorcycle is the one thing he actually does for himself in T3. The rest of the movie is him being dragged kicking and screaming into his own destiny by a robot and a girl. He doesn’t need to be cocky and self-assured… but he does need to do something.
…missing my favourite.
There was this scene in the Sarah Connor Chronicles: (Open spoilers for the end of the series from here)
that made me go "woah!" I would follow this man into battle and I would die to save his life.This Connor had not only shown himself to be a badass throughout the series, but in this scene he proved how very smart and perceptive he was (figuring out who Riley was) and that he recognized what was most important in the war against the machines, our humanity. I could see very easily how this John Connor could inspire and lead. None of the other John Connors had that reaction with me.