"Without me, you'd still have friends who were alive." Alex wouldn't have gone off the rails. Brian wouldn't have elected to simply extricate himself from his life for years on end, devolving into something that spat out codes in lieu of genuine conversation. Seth, Sarah, Amy - they wouldn't be dead and rotting, unmourned and forgotten.

Regardless of the fact that it was Alex pulled the trigger, he'd never have done so without the motive to get him to that point.

Alex lit the match, but Tim was the kindling.