You will continue to miss this person for as long as you are waiting for someone to save you.
Its nobody's job to save you, except for yours.
My bf and I broke up after he not only "failed" to save me, but ended up needing saving himself.
Lucky for us I figured I needed to save myself, and once I learned to swim and was floating along just fine, our relationship resumed.
I hope you rethink your need for a knight in shining armor, that's generally not a role people opt to play in equal partnerships.
With that being said, I am really sorry you're still pining after someone 3 years later. That has got to be rough.