"I am not so strong, nor wise. And the situation that lead me to that time would have meant our meeting would be inevitable at some point or another."

Knowing what his younger self would have prioritized above all else. Knowing what he would be deprived of if the aged Vulcan did not intervene. With the timelines already forever altered, there is no way of knowing if his decision had been the right one. He has seen logs of the crew together though, and he feels he made the right choice.

"I told him to leave his peoples' troubles to me as I was partially the cause of the situation we found ourselves in, and urged him to stay on as his ship's chief science officer. I could not take what would become his family...away from him. And I know myself, I would have done so. Without hesitation."