Actually... Reid takes the question literally. It's a good listening tactic, anyway, to check his understanding and his interpretation. It shows that he's paying attention, and wants to be corrected-- which he does.

"Awful," he says bluntly. "Dehumanizing. And I would guess..." More thoughtfully, as he turns it over, "Like a crisis of faith? If being in the Marines grounded you, losing that would be a betrayal." Spencer can liken it to the sense of abandonment he still carries from his father leaving. Something you thought you could depend on to support you, that you knew where you stood, suddenly gone.