It's very hard to put yourself in the head of somebody who has had an accident and sadly is unable to talk about it.
However, I know that at a few points in my flying career where I've returned to training I've been picked up for following "procedure" (checklists, radio...) in preference to the primacy of controlling the aeroplane. As an instructor I've seen this in other pilots as well.
That *may* perhaps be what happened.
G