I thought about those small bits of self-confidence that were so painstakingly built in boyhood, and how they were being crushed at the counter. (Para. 6)
A.
I thought about how the young man had gradually managed to build his self-confidence as a boy and hwo it was now being destroyed at the counter.
B.
I thought about how a boy could be so shy and felt so much pain as he grew up and why he was feeling even more afraid to talk at the counter.