> for life reasons he would really appreciate a fully remote job

To be fair, most people would.

I negotiated to go remote after working at a company for a few years (this was pre-COVID and much less common.) I worked hard, went above and beyond and proved that I was a valuable employee and discussed the possibility with my boss. We did a phased approach: I'd be remote one day a week for a month, then two days the next month, etc until I was fully remove. After a few months of being fully remote and still being as productive (or I'd say even more productive) they let me do global remote.

IMHO Working remotely is a privilege, you have to earn it and work hard to keep it.