I remember seeing an interview where Linus said that at one time, he rejected a contribution and felt bad because he wasn't clear enough in that he didn't wanted that.

He said he now tries to be very clear about what he doesn't want. So I guess he is ok with how things are going, otherwise, we would be likely to see another of his famous rants.

Exactly. The recent DRM issue was about who's time would be wasted. Rust is either happening, and they are wasting time by not having proper bindings, or it is not, and all the drivers written were a waste of time. In either case, the discussions around it are already a waste of time.