I think the bassists in one of my high school ensembles expected the conductor to admonish all of us for having trouble with a difficult entrance in a piece. I expected he would say something like, "Bassists, please count accurately and come in accordingly," or "Remember, you come in on the 'and' of two (i.e. the second beat of the measure.)"
Instead, the conductor said he had a problem with bassists waiting for a miracle. He explained that a miracle wasn't going to happen. From then on, we all nailed that entrance.
Sometimes, an offbeat, low-key prod is the best way to fix an orchestra's flub.
