There were times Anatoly wished he didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, that he was better at protecting himself. But he was quite the bleeding heart that simply had to help people. Anatoly was a dreamer, the type of person who was more optimistic about life despite the line of work he was in. But it also probably kept him relatively sane and grounded that he had such an outlook on life.
As it was, Anatoly was trying not to go full on psychologist here, but he could certainly where Damon may indeed need some counseling. There was some obvious depression there, given the separation from Sam and how that relationship went. Still, Anatoly didn't judge him. It would get him no where to sit there and judge. Especially when his dream self was an asshole who cheated on his wife.
"That is the thing about emotions, when they are true, it is more than difficult to let go of them when there wasn't any closure." Anatoly was going to simply hazard a guess that there hadn't been closure with Sam. "Ideally talking with Sam would help that, but when that is not an option, talking about it with an uninvolved party may help. At least in that respect, you would be able to say the things that you otherwise cannot say to anyone else." And, well, Anatoly was more than willing to hear Damon out. He already was, but he wouldn't mind if Damon talked to him in depth. At least it would be a place to start.
Anatoly gave a short, soft, humorless chuckle at the question. "I am not a politician in the dreams. I had actually been studying to become a medical doctor when I met the woman I eventually married in the dreams. She taught me how to play chess, and eventually I was approached by a man named Molokov. He was KGB and wanted me to play chess on the global scene. I did and let myself be blinded by pride in the process of rising to become the champion for the USSR. At the world championships, I was set to play the American champion. The entirety of the tournament was political in nature given it was East versus West. I hated the politics, but there was little I could really do to keep it out of my mind." Especially with Molokov breathing down his neck and going on about how he needed to win to prove a point to the West. Or something equally as stupid.