how does ralph's waning confidence in himself show in his words and actions?

In Chapter 8 Jack has stormed off taking most of the bigger boys with him. Ralph feels whatever authority he had left slip away. He is despondent,

“There’s no help, Piggy. Nothing to be done.”

For a while they sat in depressed silence.

Although Ralph is a responsible leader, he is not an effective one. Most of the boys respond to primal emotions and not logic or responsible living.