Soap's death hit everyone hard--Simon, in particular. Johnny was his safe space, in a way. He could trust him.

But after his funeral, Simon became closed off once again, colder, he wouldn't talk to anyone, for days, weeks, even.

Price decided it'd be best for Simon to go on leave for a few months, medical leave, whatever he wanted to consider it.

So, Simon took to the bottle, downing whiskey to make himself feel better. To make himself feel, at all. He wasn't proud of it.