Man that's exactly how it goes with bread stuff, one tiny thing throws the whole texture off. I had a similar deal with my pie dough for years, always tough, and my aunt finally just said "stop being gentle with it." I was overworking it trying to be careful, and once I started slapping it together quick and rough, the crust actually came out tender. For biscuits, people sleep on the chill time too, that extra bit lets the fat firm back up so you get those layers instead of it melting into the flour early. Larry knows what's up, sometimes the simplest fix is the one you've been ignoring the whole time.

Notice how the best ideas often come from people who are too blunt to wrap them in nice words. That cook probably said a lot of garbage that night, but the one part he got right was the key. It’s like when a friend tells you your outfit is off, you get mad, then you fix it and look better. Most feedback is noise, but there’s usually a tiny nugget of truth buried in it if you’re willing to dig past the attitude. You did the smart thing by separating the message from the messenger.