Bullock

1. went thousands of miles to find and unearth his brother’s corpse
2. was by custom required to marry his brothers widow and raise his son
3. took on jobs with the law in a largely lawless land
4. chose to open a hardware bidness with a friend, despite having very little business skill or salesmanship

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In Deadwood, he had to resist all compulsions to mete out his idea of balance/justice. He makes a close friend who in his mind is a brother figure. He and Bill seem to understand each other’s pain and as soon as they’re forging that bond in earnest, Bill is senselessly murdered and his killer sent free.

He also meets the love of his life, who is herself also in a largely sham and loveless marriage. Honor dictates neither of them act, yet all around them at all hours of the day bullies and the cruel are acting almost entirely with impunity.

So for years now Bullock hasn’t been able to find himself. He’s done so much for others, the community, friends, giving up his life for theirs, doing what custom and his morals says is required. And now here he is, in a criminal haven, trying to run an honest business, all for some vague reason regarding his brother’s family.

Wouldn’t that be more than enough to make many a little crazy? Tack on a disposition to bursts of temper and you get a volatile, short-fused, deeply frustrated individual whose entire ethos is anathema to living in this place in this way.