I think it's pretty obvious that Nicks anxiety was out of control against Lawler. After building up to this for multiple years, he had a huge adrenaline dump, did a bunch of spinning shit, and gave up when he gassed out instead of biting down, fighting back, and waiting out the storm.
If he doesn't get that shit under control, Luque is going to make him pay. On the other hand, if he can delude himself into thinking he still has it, he could actually hurt Luque who is gunshy and his brain is a bowl of pudding at this point.
It's sad. Nick should be living his dream in a state park with his mobile RV turned grow op like he used to talk about back in the day.