Eric, in his own opinion, managed to live quite well without his father.
Sure, he could count on his fingers how many times his mother smiled at him, but that was a laughable problem when he compared his with other atypical families.
Sure, he was bullied in school because of his absence, but many kids were bullied for stupider reasons, and that experience taught him how to solve problems on his own.
Sure, he had a self-esteem problem that hid in complex and effective ways, but in the fast-paced, results-driven Earth society: who didn't ever struggle mentally?
Many times before his trans-worldly teleportation, he heard that depression was the new plague of the present era.
In a way, it was born from the constant comparison and dissatisfaction our minds went through with social media. On the other side, it is the simple and abyssal difference between our dreams and our reality.