Paul Theroux on V.S. Naipaul on freelancing

Paul Theroux is an author I have come back to many times in the last couple of decades. I read the Mosquito Coast some time ago, but only recently read The Great Railway Bazaar, his 70s breakthrough effort, and the Old Patagonian Express, his follow up.
I picked up Sir Vidia’s Shadow, Theroux’s account of his friendship with V.S. Naipaul, out of curiosity. The book turned out to be a gem not least for what it reveals about Theroux’s own personal life and struggle to become a successful writer. Complaining to Naipaul about the hardscrabble nature of freelancing Naipaul advised that the essence of the freelance life was freedom and that one needed confidence to deal with setbacks and to believe everything would be fine in the end (pp.197).