@mitochan I think he's saying he'll do the "right" thing, the "proper" thing, the "expected" thing to help someone - enough to be told "you did what you could but they couldn't be helped" (not maliciously, just his personality). where another person might drop everything, sacrificing themselves, to drop into a pit of despair and hopelessness trying to save someone.
if someone falls overboard and you heroically find and throw in a life-preserver but they can't hold on because of the waves, it would still be viewed as a heoric act (though a failure), but if you jump in and drown with them because of the waves, it would be viewed as a tragedy that couldn't be helped. but Yatora says at the end that he would do what's "proper" and then go beyond into what could be "tragic" if needed because he does care.