Adult Dean: I missed Daddy's time window, so I thought it best to have Mama walk me in. I needed as many crime scene witnesses as possible.

Bill: Okay, that's not bad. You're definitely improving.
Calvin: I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to be better prepared for today, but, I haven't had much time to practice.
Bill: Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. Why don't we work on something easier.
Adult Dean: I guess up until that point, I'd always assumed my dad couldn't help but be hard on me all the time. But now I was seeing that it was a choice. A choice that was making me miserable, and I just didn't get it. Why?

Bill: Why does everyone think I'm hard on him? I'm no harder on him than my father was on me. I push him because I care. The boy needs to toughen up, if he's ever gonna play in front of big audiences.
Lillian: Has Dean said that's what he wants to do? Has he ever had the choice not to play?
Bill: Well, I assume that's what he wants to do. Eventually. What else would he want? If he's not playing professionally, then it's just a waste of talent.
Lillian: Well, let's just remember he's 12.
Bill: [scoffs] Oh, more excuses. When I was 12, I was 20.
Lillian: Have you ever thought that maybe your frustration about Dean wasting his talent is because you feel like you might be wasting yours?
Bill: What? No. This isn't about me. This is about Dean.
Lillian: Of course. But I think a part of you already knows that you don't want to take that tour because you want tenure. And maybe, maybe, that's what's really frustrating you.
Bill: Of course I'm frustrated. The band's gonna be devastated. But I can't risk losing tenure. The stability that comes with it, the benefits... It's too important to our family. But that doesn't mean I'm taking it out on Dean. Or does it? Maybe. I don't know.
Lillian: Well, I hope you know that we really appreciate your sacrifices. I really appreciate your sacrifices.
Bill: Maybe I should go have a talk with him.

Adult Dean: A nice-sized crowd showed up for the school's band performance. But it didn't much matter to me. Instead of sitting in that band chair, terrified, I was terrified for another reason. [Bill and Dean screaming on a ride] Turns out, my dad had decided to stop being my teacher and just be my dad. It wasn't until I was a father myself that I learned that sometimes what's best for your kids is for you to step out of the way.