Yeah... there's other ways to deescalate but it involves sacrificing your ego. Unsurprisingly those who can sacrifice their ego and those who think they have to train because "Nobody should be the gardener in a war." are often not the same people.
The implication that it's about ego is a relatively pathetic, naive, cosmopolitan view of reality. I wish I could live in such bliss.
Also, judgment about avoiding that kind of situation.