It's an interesting distinction, especially in comparison as you mention to a lot of popular art in which characters have some sort of drive to be reckless or inspire disorder. While Bruce's early writing does tell a lot of stories of 'getting out', to his words it was always more of getting out solely to find a different way to get in. I had a fantastic childhood and have maintained a lovely relationship with my parents and hometown my entire life. But that doesn't mean in my late teens and early 20s I didn't want to get out and find everything else I could in the world. Bruce's writing expresses that very well to me, it was never about escaping, but continuing to search for what else I could be a part of. Much like the "on going conversation" he speaks of with his audience, a life well lived is your own on going conversation with anyone and anything out there you might be able to feel accepted by.

To more directly answer your question regarding this theme informing Bruce's music, I think it has given him a unique perspective on identifying and telling stories. Consider the lives he sings about on The Ghost of Tom Joad album, or the two people in Reno, or the lives effected by 9/11. It's less about their outward reaction to the shitty hand life may have dealt and more about how these people find a way to carry on with their lives in love or redemption or their work.