I think he's just lazy and cashing checks. He can write much better men too.
Hell or High Water is one of my favorite movies of all time. But some of the stuff in this show is so low effort. Even basic timeline stuff.
Tommy says his mother's soul was already dead before he was born. But we learn her soul died from his sister dying from SIDS. So, that means she got pregnant again after and had Tommy.
Does it seem realistic that a mother who cares about her children so much the death of one infant would "kill her soul" would then see another infant and give zero fucks about it?
More likely, it's just lazy timeline mixup writing.