His parent were farmers. This taught him the value of food. Humbled him to fear the treachery of an empty belly paired to a hopeless heart.

See, having an empty belly wasn't a bad thing on itself. In fact he had gone many days not eating a single bite. So long as the empty belly was led by a strong heart, then he could go days with focus. On the hunt. 

It was once the heart lost its confidence that the belly became a nagging pain. No longer could he focus on the task at hand, his body telling him of only one thing. How will you eat?

There was only one thing worse than being hopeless in the heart and empty in the belly. To be surrounded by your loved ones who were also empty bellied. And who but he in this situation would have such a hopeless heart? His uncle used to say that a man surrounded by loved ones and their bellies filled, within the warmth of a sturdy house had nothing to despair. It didn't matter how you achieved this state: a castle protected by a moat, a nomadic circle of tents with a fire in the middle. So long as you were warm, belly filled and surrounded by your loved ones, healthy and with full bellies, you didn't care what else the world had to offer.