[Klashikari]

Except that it was never and ever hinted at all: Kazuto was never feeling useless or unworthy compared to Sugou, as far as the anime goes.
The problem here is that Sugou is the one that "allows" Asuna to remain alive, and he has a good position within the Yuuki family, hence why Asuna is "unreachable" for him. That aside, he -never- questioned his worth towards her at all, unless the anime made a very bad adaptation of his train of thoughts.

Kazuto was never shown with any uncertainty, otherwise it wouldn't make -any sense- for him to rush in ALO if he was THAT concerned of his own value. What he wants the most is to reach Asuna no matter the cost. And such hope was sparked by Agil's screenshot. Aside, Sugou has absolutely no influence whatsoever, save the impossibility for him to reach her, due to marriage.

And this is where the "urgency" is lacking over the episodes in ALO arc: Kazuto is plainly having fun, and Asuna being a bird in her cage is solely filled by her own scenes with Sugou. Heck, if you ever remove these scenes and start with "ALO Kirito debut", it could be a simple adventure, instead of a rescue quest. That shows how much Asuna's plight is barely inserted.

Also, the major problems in ALO wouldn't be that bad if you were to use tropes to define them. But it is beyond than that: they are textbook narrative devices that are abused and out of place (which wasn't problematic in SAO arc).