Had this guy over the last year or so that I played online games with. “Knowing” someone online is a bit hard, but I gleaned from his commentary that he suffered from health issues, chronic pain. He was married, had a young girl, 7 or so. Then, over the summer, realized the marriage was in trouble when he would comment that he had his daughter for the weekend.
In the fall, October I guess, his son put a message on his account: if you have heard from my dad, please get in touch with me immediately. Dad had been missing for a day or so, with his pickup.
He had killed himself. Oh, the pain. The pain of his family. The pain of even remotely attached people such as online friends. Several months now, and people are still commenting about the loss, the desire to have figured it out, to have been able to reach out to him.
I can see that in your post. If you did ask anything on line, it would seem like prying and if you did get a chance to help, then you would feel you didn't do enough. All we can learn from this is be honest with those around us and ask them to do the same. They have the support - it certainly isn't from the lack of support - even from strangers. I know, sometimes we think if we said that 'one right thing' to jar them into reality and they take time to rethink things it could have turned out different.