My view as RAH:
First concern is whether he is in recovery. He may not want to talk about things because he is secretly drinking, and doesn't want to expose himself.
If he is staying sober: the early days were quite hard for me. Drinking was a big part of my life, and a big part of my coping mechanism. Initially there was just a big void, and I had to cope "unfiltered". So, I needed to work on myself initially before being able to handle relationship demands.
I wasn't expecting anything from my wife at the time (attention, sympathy, etc), and I don't think it would have been appropriate. But early recovery is not the best time to work on a damaged marriage, because it is a fragile time. Presumably, there is not much hope for the marriage if the recovery is not sustainable...