BOAC
Have to agree. Confidence in your F/O (s) is one thing, but going to sleep as the a/c approaches the ITCZ quite another.
I'm sure the F/Os were competent, but I think most Capt's would like to be on the F/D and most companies would expect them to be, during flight through this sort of adverse weather.
I wonder, if he had stayed up front, whether his greater experience might have saved the day. Maybe we'll find out soon but it's probably too intangible a parameter to be revealed by data.
Personally, I rarely even go for a pee. But then, I'm not a longhaul guy.