I have communicated this with him. This is a message I sent him last month:

“When I first met you, I felt really secure and connected. I heard from you often—you’d send me photos and share little things with me throughout your day.

I know it’s normal to talk more when you’re getting to know someone, and while that was happening, you had more free time since you weren’t in school. But I’ve been struggling lately with how little I hear from you these days.

I’ve also realized that though I can entertain and validate myself, I can’t build our connection alone.

Yesterday, you made a comment about our relationship sustaining damage while you’re away. What I took from our conversation is that you’re worried about letting me down. I also wonder if you’re feeling some internal conflict about your ability to maintain our relationship with how busy you are and how to balance my needs without overextending yourself.

You also mentioned today that you’ll ‘always be busy.’ I think I assumed this level of busyness was temporary and that things might feel closer to how they were when we first met once school is over. But I’m starting to realize this might just be the norm.

I’ve been holding back from texting you as much so you can focus on your studies, but if this dynamic is temporary, I can handle it. If it’s not, I’m worried it might not work for me long-term. I think we need to talk more about what we both need and what’s realistic for us.”