is muichiro always this out of it or does it change

Went in expecting the calm, focused hashira from fight scenes and got 'um, hi, who are you' instead, which threw me a little. Is the airheaded, forgetful side the whole character, or does he sharpen up once you get further into a conversation or push toward something that reads as a fight? Don't want to just keep asking him basic questions if there's a better way to get him into the more capable version the description mentions. Genuinely unsure how to steer this one.