"I am much better," he exclusively shared with E! News. "The timing was mainly screwed up. Because we have such a tight shooting schedule, it was imperative that the guests' charters

"I am much better," he exclusively shared with E! News. "The timing was mainly screwed up. Because we have such a tight shooting schedule, it was imperative that the guests' charters start and end on time so it didn't have a domino effect and impact every charter after that." 

Captain Lee confirmed that his condition "was not related to COVID at all."

"It was a totally unique year," he added of season nine. "It's unlike any other season that we've had, and I really enjoyed it." 

Below Deck premieres tonight, Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family)