Better he be honest with you now than drag things out longer.
It's easy to carry on internet flirtation and *hint* at romance, or even profess love, from a distance. Once you were there reality hit him square in the face. It sounds like he has bigger issues to deal with, and he knows it. Now.
He would text all the time, but after coming home and me now knowing about his situation, it’s been pretty quiet.
If I had spent weeks wooing someone and asked him to come a long way to see me then said, in effect, "oh, never mind" I'd be mortified.