Well, first of all you were not there to see how your husband stood up for himself with this coworker. He may have done it so poorly and it sounds like he genuinely lacks the skills to handle the situation he shared with you. From what you describe he lacks communication skills and that's probably why he is distracting himself with the TV right now. It's really not your fault that he failed to handle this challenge either. Also, some people are very good with their hands and doing projects but not so good when dealing with other people. He was devalued by this other person and again devalued when the projects were cut back. He is probably feeling quite defeated right now and the TV has become his distraction. Some people get more easily defeated than others, which is something you probably handle better than him.