Not taking being dropped into the Nexus seriously is by all accounts ridiculous. Hysterical joking I could understand, perhaps, but then everyone else would as well and everyone else seems to dislike the characters.

Not wanting to die is a motive everyone has, but if nothing else drives him he won't work in the Arena. People like that have no reason to seek out fights, and without seeking fights a character who everyone seems to want to avoid isn't going to be doing much.