It seems like he feels responsible for the ones he's met. They're no longer strangers. What would it be like for them to fall on hard times? He might be feeling

It seems like he feels responsible for the ones he's met. They're no longer strangers. What would it be like for them to fall on hard times? He might be feeling the need to help them proactively, perhaps by putting them through college, and this is something he might need money from the lawsuit in order to do.