It sounds like he has major trust issues and is affraid of letting his feelings come out. I bet he has them even though he doesn't show it, the way you expect. I think if he started to deal with some of his problems like depressionz he could work on being more open on how he feels. It sounds like he had a rough time during his young development years. At that stage we learn how to trust, and share things, and express ourselves. Being with abusive parents at that age could have stunted that development and left him clueless on how to express how he is feeling or worse he could be invalidating his own feelings. You can love him and be there, but it is his choice on how to work on himself and what he wants his life to be. I suggest to be honest with him about how you feel and make him feel safe to share things with you. I think ultimately he needs to work on himself if the releationship is to suceed.