I thought that at first too, but he says he likes picking old tickets off the backlog. There's usually no product pressure or deadlines with that sort of work. Which is actually the source of burnout perhaps?
If his team is anything like the one I work for, the backlog isn't prioritized until the day before the sprint starts... something we're trying to change, but still a long way away from.
So, it's a bit contradictory?