Believe what you want to believe. Cruz has talked the talk and walked the walk. Seems a lot less risky to me than a guy who changes from democrat to republican with regularity, but that’s why we go through this process. If your guy is everything you say he is, he shouldn’t have any problem getting to 1237. If not, then we’ll have a contested election and the party can decide if they want to continue being a viable party or crash and burn.
I do not say he is anything but an outsider. If he does a wall and gets immigration under control he will have done more for the country than I expect any of the GOPOe, including Cruz, would do. Those alone would make him a great success in my eyes and will be the most conservative changes to come out of DC in decades. If he does some of the other stuff he is talking about, he could be a great president. I suspect any of the others will knuckle down to their donors and not do much about the border or immigration because the donors like those things the way they are.