I think we all understand that groundspeed will change with relative wind direction. The autopilot will try keep you on the same groundtrack in the orbit and so will alter the AOB to achieve that, albeit we are only talking small angles here. When the AOB is higher, more of the beam is being pointed at the ground (= clutter) and so you might occasionally want to have the higher AOB, more cluttered picture occur at (eg) the west side of the orbit rather than the east so that the best picture is available at the range from the orbit that is most suitable for the trade, which therefore means a decision on left or right! Or maybe use one of the other pretty patterns available through the GINS. Either way, it is not going to spill the coffee unless you get the airspeed badly wrong, when coffee spills are the least of your problems (pace Air France).
Also, the QFI/staff chap was right. You shouldn't need a met lecture to remind you that the wind blows up there, which really would be sad...