Were retired convoy commodores merely lead sheep?

Were convoy commodores essentially lead sheep facing the U-boat wolf packs?

They were vulnerable, but not passive; Bell Davies even commanded from a vessel that rammed a U-boat.

The audience characterizes a commodore as a vulnerable lead ship facing wolf packs. Bell Davies's experience provides the counterexample because one vessel from which he directed a convoy rammed a U-boat. Convoy leaders were vulnerable without being merely passive targets. These senior merchant-convoy appointments were exposed operational jobs rather than retirement sinecures.