Yeah it’s not that obvious, although he just calls him a strange old hermit earlier on, rather than anything more formal.
That’s part of what confuses me, I feel like there’s a bit of a mixed message as to how well he knows him. The way he talks to him when he calls him “Ben” feels like he’s addressing someone who’s been a mentor figure to him for years, whom he has a lot of respect for.
Maybe he has, but he still thinks of Ben as “strange” because he doesn’t talk about himself or his past very much? The way he says it does sound like he’s not too familiar with him.