I doubt it eases anyone's conscience, and that isn't what I was trying to do.
SHIELD was broken, in tatters, and trying to rally. A lot of agents were lost, whereabouts unknown, or hadn't been loyal and killed those who were. People slipped through the cracks, unfortunately - good people. Good agents. Harboring blame and bitterness won't change that, but working to get yourself back on track, as you say, can help keep something like that from happening again.