Adrien Agreste was homeschooled for his entire life and therefore didn’t have any friends except for Chloé, who is the exact opposite of him in terms of personality (she’s rude, highly critical of everything, inconsiderate, etc.)
He was also deprived from any kind of parental love/care from his own father, Gabriel Agreste, who conciously sends villains after his OWN SON, who prioritizes his own villainous motives before him. Adrien has dealt with his mom, the only person who he probably has idolized and learned love & kindness from, leaving; without a caring father or even friends who were there for him for support. On top of these, his father wasn’t there for him on his first Christmas without his mom, which drove Adrien so sad to the point where he escaped from his home in the middle of the night to stalk his friends’ families and feel even more depressed upon seeing their healthy family atmospheres.
His father neglects him to the point that he actually goes missing upon feeling as if nobody would even care if he did so. To the point where he can’t even give a proper answer to Ladybug when she asks him “do you think he’d take it out on his own son?” in The Collector. To the point his friends have to feel as if they need to speak up against the unfairness of the way Gabriel treats Adrien, like in The Bubbler.
He’s been “locked away” in a huge mansion all by himself, without any friends or a parental figure other than his mom, who escapes, to give some love to him. He’s put on a busy schedule that includes him doing modeling, taking Chinese & fencing lessons AND saving Paris every single day? And he doesn’t ONCE tell his father to cut him some slack every now & then??
Even though he’s only known Chloé as a friend, he never once acts mean towards anyone in school & even tells Chloé to be nicer to everyone, or else they can no longer be friends. He openly tells people that he hasn’t had much experience with friendships his whole life, acts as kindly as he can & never once speaks against his father.
He even tries to establish a deeper bond with his father (by initiating hugs, feeling over-thankful for a scarf he thinks his father has bought for him, always waiting for him before meals etc).
I know Adrien is far from perfect, but it really impresses me that Adrien managed to turn out the way he did. His family background forms an ideal villain backstory, but no, the guy saves Paris every single day instead.
I hope he gets some love during this season, from Ladybug at least..