Shall I play for you

Jack and I were driving to yet another swim practice yesterday, when we passed what probably could be a homeless man. "Homeless people depress me." Jack said this as he was changing in to what the coach considers an appropriate bathing suit. My response was, "imagine how they feel".
This discussion then led to Jack asking if I thought people who were homeless just didn't try hard, or if there were other circumstances that made them what they are; was it drugs or alcohol or mental illness? He knows the answer, but I'm sure there is a lot of pressure in his culture to believe that individuals have complete control of their lives and if they don't they're just fucked up. We talked about the various issues like environment, genetics, luck ,and how without certain support systems things can get really out of control. I tried not to be too knee jerk about any of it and just let him work it out, which in the end brought him to where he might have been had I reacted as I usually would. He saved himself a forty five minute lecture both passionate and resolute; talk about luck.