Sounds like housemate is committed to playing hero rather than being a responsible adult, probably because it's easier, as they can drop everything and hyperfocus on the role and feel needed in a way that successful adulting does not provide. This would also imply he would be drawn to people who are stochastically prone to situations requiring them to be a hero. They may also be drawn to dramatic emotions in others as a way of avoiding facing their own anhedonia? Sorry about the pop psych drivel here, but I felt compelled to play Sherlock to try and understand the dynamic, and I'm sensing patterns.