A lot of absent fathers aren’t total deadbeats. They go to work, pay the bills, and are physically present in the home, but they aren’t emotionally present. They don’t particularly care if their kid is doing well in school, or who their friends are, or if they get to see them before they go to bed. If it were up to them, they probably wouldn’t have been a father, but since they were given this lot in life, they’re not going to walk away from it. They’re not cowardly enough to leave for milk and never come back, but they’re not upstanding enough to commit to being emotionally close with their kids. That would take effort that, for them, would be better spent sitting in front of the TV or getting some brewskis with the boys. Kids with this kind of father often struggle because they’re told they’re there for them when they clearly aren’t.