A question about HAL and Dave’s conversation, the one that leads to, “Just a moment, just a moment….”

Did anyone else find it odd that Dave appeared to be oblivious to HAL’s odd/paranoid/maybe just genuinely concerned… behavior during the scene in which Hal shares his concerns with him regarding the mission?
Or maybe he didn’t and was playing along.
What do you think, is Dave oblivious or is he going along with it so as to glean further insights. For example, When HAL is sharing his concerns with Dave, and I’m paraphrasing, “Isn’t it odd…, and everything being hush hush…, and doctors so and so being put on board already asleep…..,” and Dave’s reply is, “you’re working on your crew psychology reports.”
HAL sheepishly says “Of course.”
Was HAL working on his crew psychology reports? He appears to be genuinely seeking Dave’s opinions/feelings on the matter, to put his mind at ease, and it is in this exact moment, when Dave replies with the crew psychology report retort that HAL appears to slip into a state of technological-based anxiety (…just a moment, just a moment….) and so begins his decent into madness.
Why did Dave reply in that way, why not humor HAL to see where he was going with it, I mean Dave and Frank were in the dark and they had to have known this, wouldn’t it benefit Dave to let HAL keep talking instead of deflecting the issue?
Wouldn’t a more appropriate response be, “You bring up a good point Hal, what are your concerns? You know, just enough validation to keep the ball rolling but not enough to appear paranoid or unprofessional, as NASA would be listening to everything no doubt.

Also, once HAL is shut down, Dave receives a broadcast from NASA stating that everything being shared with him at this point was ONLY known to HAL and HAL alone, so if HAL knew all of this anyways, why would he ask Dave his thoughts on the matter to begin with? Maybe he was working on his crew psychology reports after all but it didn’t feel that way, it felt like HAL was seeking reassurance from Dave and when it it wasn’t given he cracked.

I also think there is something about this scene that isn’t discussed enough, yes it is the moment where HAL’s mind begins to unravel, and we all know this, but what if Dave had just provided him a bit of comfort or been more attentive to his inquisitiveness, yes I know it’s a movie and the plot is the plot, but how would you have acted in this scene, deflect as Dave did or taken a risk against NASA’s listening ear and humored HAL a bit more?