“That crew that’s there right now is a super capable crew,” Pryor said. “They want to make it work, so I was like, maybe it’s time to let the young bloods take it and see what they can do.”

There was no big announcement of his departure, and Pryor has spent the time since slowing down. His stage managing duties at FloydFest, Rooster Walk and Local Colors fell for now to the pandemic. He considered such work a vacation.

“Good food, good vibes, good music,” he said.

The former Marine, who had planned on working at least another two years at Jefferson Center, said that he has missed no more than three consecutive days of work since 1984.

Is he a trouper or a masochist?

“I’ve been trying to figure it out the last two weeks, too,” he said during a July interview.

In another chat last week, he said that he was starting to adjust to the new routines, while he works on the home he has owned for 29 years and pared down much of the electronic gear he collected during his years at Jefferson Center. And he has slept a lot.

“I think just like anything else that you’ve done for 20 years, you go through those bouts of anxiety and a certain amount of disappointment,” he said.

But without a wide announcement of his retirement, he has been able to avoid over-talking the issue with sympathetic listeners.