Pondering about how Kai has made his power a part of his identity so much that it’s become a point of complete toxicity to himself . Without his power, he spirals into an immense self destructive phase, undervaluing himself to a total zero.
We continuously see how highly he depends on his powers, titles (green ninja, fire maker, etc), people (wu, social followers) to determine his self worth. Not to mention his cocky and prideful persona in front of others is likely a ‘safety system’ he derived for himself so he is not taken advantage of, or left behind (credits to his childhood). After all, confidence and pride (to a certain extent, of course) are considered attractive qualities to look up to, admire, and not necessarily to mess with.
He’s constantly trying to do as much as he can in so many different things, trying to prove his worth. Because he does not know who he is without them. Without people. Without titles. Without powers. He believes that just truly being himself is not of any value to those around him, and that if he cannot be of service he is absolutely worthless.
I don't think people should make fun of others for saying they have no friends in front of people who consider them friends because yea obviously we're buds but we're not as close as you are with other people and my debilitating fear of intamacy and constant state of lonliness tell me we'll never be closer than what we are now and I'll never be able to express myself fully to you because you won't understand that when I say friends I mean someone who I know will take all of me and say its okay without feeling like a burden or rejecting specific parts of me that I've grown to accept. I know that's never going to happen unless I get better but I don't know how to get better enough to feel comfortable with myself and not the portraits painted specifically for each person I know. So please understand that when I say I have no friends I don't mean that our relationship means nothing I mean that I am nothing to this relationship which has been copied and pasted to other people for so long and while other people are able to get closer to people I will find myself still sitting here watching us remain stagnant.