Consol,
You hit the nail on the head….the left seat sets the tone.
Back in my AF days I was what we called a “first pilot”, which was an intermediate position between a Co-Pilot and an Aircraft Commander (AC ,same as civilian Captain). I was paired with an AC to fly a C-141 mission from the States to Europe, Turkey, it was a 7 day mission. As I set up the cockpit, the AC told me to sit in the left seat and stay there for the duration of the mission. Up until that point I had little experience taxiing the aircraft or running a mission. After those 30 hours of running an actual mission from the left seat, my confidence soared and any anxiety I had about flying in the left seat disappeared. I’ll always be thankful to him for allowing me that opportunity.