I don't know who is at the very top of the Honda F1 food chain but I suspect this person might have misleading memories of the late 80s when Honda wiped the floor. Even when falling short and Ayrton Senna was complaining loudly, they had enough manpower, technology and clout to find a fix, almost overnight.
Honda have long since realised that F1 in the current era is an entirely different proposition from every angle. The only common factor would seem to be open and justified criticism from the leading driver.
When Honda switched to McLaren for 1988, they had already established the power benchmark through back-to-back constructors' championships with Williams.