... I still struggle to understand why he recommended it to me, yet never embraced it himself. I just think it was mainly laziness on his part. ...
Isn´t it possible that your friend simply didn´t had the money to buy
BTC even when the Bitcoin price was low? I guess a few people that believed
in Bitcoin simply missed out due to not being liquid enough to invest.
I´m not sure from which country you are, but even in a wealthy country
like the US the average person is not exactly having a lot of money
that is available for investment.
63% Of Americans Don't Have Enough Savings To Cover A $500 EmergencyMaybe you should reconsider and gift him a few mBTC

Nah, I know him well enough to know that he has/had enough discretionary income to invest in Bitcoin an amount he was willing to lose. Interestingly (or sadly) enough, at the time I remember he was really into Physical silver. He was accumulating quite a bit and we talked about Doomsday scenarios a lot.
You don't think ... my friend could actually be.... ? No no, don't think it (shudders) lol