I ' ve been diagnosed with anxiety , depression , bipolar , yadda yadda , and I ' ve overcome most of them by making lifestyle changes , but I think it ' s why I ' ve been rooting for Dave since the first episode . The man is clearly physically and emotionally weak and uncomfortable in his own skin , as you can see by him wrapping his arms around his body a lot of the time . I ' ve loved seeing him realize his true potential , and I ' m super stoked to see him take such a position of power . The guy is pretty much useless in every challenge , but he ' s still a fantastic player . I think the edit in the first or second episode of the season , where Ken teaches David to embrace nature and hold the stick bug is largely foreshadowing their future in the game .