"We are pecking-order animals, and this affects the tiniest details of our behavior."
Status is not about social class or position. It is something you do. It is a series of tiny, often subconscious signals we send to each other in every interaction.
You can play high status (expanding, keeping eye contact, smooth movements) or low status (contracting, breaking eye contact, jerky movements). The master improviser chooses their status consciously to serve the scene.
Read the line. Is the speaker High or Low status?
"I'm so sorry to bother you, but could I possibly have a glass of water?"