People ITT are also overlooking the general message of the film from which OP's quote originates: that greatness comes only with intense personal sacrifice. The narrative shows the kid go to retarded lengths to be what he wants to be. The writer largely intended the viewer to look at the kid and the conductor's behavior as being two sides of abject derangement. He had tried to be a drummer himself and he despised the crazy fanaticism that went behind creating "great art".

But the end result was that many viewers of the film connected on a personal level with both of them. I think that happens to be an indicator of great writing: when the writer's intent is different from the received message.