IKARI:“It's been three years since the last time
we came here together.”
SHINJI:“I ran away then,
and haven't been back since.
It just hasn't sunk in that Mother is resting here.
I don't even remember her face.”
Dr. Nick: While Shinji gets called a wuss to an unreasonable degree, for better or for worse (for worse - see EoE) there's also a strong bull-headed streak to him, considering how he ran away from home at age 11 and stuck with it. This is reinforced in the very next scene with a milder version of the same, him sticking with his cello playing. Like Asuka says, "perseverance is power". It's a trait he clearly got from both of his parents.
