I could imagine a scenario where his family pushed for him to follow his dreams and do whatever he could to make it work. I've had friends lose loved ones and parents and still move away from family to do what they think they need to do to set themselves up. Some feel the pull to come back, others don't, and both responses can be for different reason.

It's not the same thing as losing a parent, but I had illness in my family announced when I was on the verge of deciding whether to stay in Vietnam for an extended period. I'm missing out on watching family grow and consolidating relationships I formed with people prior to leaving. I miss home, I want to go back and know what I'm doing for my career has a shelf life and I can tell you that I am going home for personal and family reasons. I might go back to a job with the same company, consulting is funny like that, I'd love to be able to go back to a choice of nine companies like Victorian kids who play AFL do (and are good enough - maybe I should be better at my job) if I wasn't able to transfer.

AFL football is a career now, as soon as everyone becomes more pragmatic about these things the better.