What is 何の doing in this sentence? (「何の躊躇いもなく」)

Question

何の[躊躇]{ためら}いもなく答える人になりたい。

I don't understand what function 何の is serving here. Is this just nuance? How much does the sentence's meaning change if it weren't there?

Answer 1

This is the common grammatical structure that emphasizes an absence of [something].

何{なん}の + [something] + も + [negative verb]

For example, the opposite of「役に立つ」is「何の役にも立たない」, which means "useless" or "not helpful." Another example,「何の意味もない」means "devoid of meaning."

Back to your question,「何の躊躇いもない」means "no hesitation." When it is in 連用形, it means "without hesitation." The whole sentence can be understood as

I want to become a person who answers without hesitation.

Answer 2

How much does the sentence's meaning change if it weren't there?

It would be slightly less emphasized.

It's like the difference between appending "whatsoever" at the end or not in English.