Nachshon: Is there a place for him?

Every school-aged child in Jewish school grew up on the Medrash that the Jewish people, camped on the edge of the Red Sea, surrounded by Pharaoh's chariots and fiercest warriors, when Nachshon, determinedly and gloriously walked into the waters which reached his very nostrils. Then, Nachshon whose belief was so great and knew in his heart of hearts that God would not abandon his people, saw the waters miraculously split when he had done everything in his human capacities to demonstrate his undying belief in the God who had performed the miracles previously on land, and would do the very same in the turbulent waters. 

This narrative is very dramatic, especially given God's modus operandi. Before each set of three plagues, God clearly delineates his goal, that the people know I am God, and then, God on the land, and then, God, who prevails over all the land, the deathblow being the firstborns struck at the toll of midnight. The Egyptians themselves declare thereafter that God can only fight for the Jews on land - but not on the water; comes along Nachson, and he shows his infinite belief that God would prevail on land and water alike. 

The question I would like to pose is whether any hint to the above narrative twist, Nachshon's bravery and daring, can be found in the text itself. 

The text, after all, is very different. The Jewish people are scared, Moshe tries to assuage their fears, tells them not to fear, that they will surely vanquish their enslavers, and then, a panicked Moshe calls out to God begging for salvation and mercy, and God says, "Why are you calling out to me? Get moving!" In other words, Hashem is telling Moshe, there are times when even prayer is extraneous. Moshe, thus, did not intuitively grasp this message; Nachshon, who is not mentioned in this context at all in the Torah, did. 

Where did Nachshon come from? Is the story of his daring but a counterfactual?! It seems to fly in the face of everything that DID happen, and not present a different facet, or underlying message, seemingly latent, which the verses illuminate in any shape or form. 

Where, then, is Nachshon's bravery, and dogged belief, to be found in the verses of Parshat Beshalach? 

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